injuries are no excuse for the last 2 losses
Thats just not right. Its like a blind mantra that people say because they hear coaches say that at the podium. And usually advocating a position, in this case Bowles should be fired. Thats why the word "excuse" is used instead of IMPACTED.
It is undeniable that the injuries IMPACTED this season and last DIFFERENTLY, whether that is an EXCUSE is a subjective opinion.
Heres are TWO simple ways to see the IMPACT of Bucs injuries in 2025, both an external and internal comparison of the offense
Objectively speaking, we have a better offensive line than the Rams who crushed us in 2025. I say objectively speaking because our average draft position is round 2.0 and the Rams are 2.6. So our O-LINE starting line up versus their starting line up, we win in terms of average draft position.
BUT, the RAMS offensive line starters are on the field an average of 82% of the 2025 snaps.
By comparison, the Bucs BETTER offensive line is ONLY on the field this season for 60% of the snaps AND that is with Barton being 100% on the field, so 50 plus snaps or more at LT (I forget if he played LT more than 1 game).
Think about that. AND IT GETS MORE STARK than that.
Beside shuffling guys all over the line, our # back up 0line player (by snaps) is Michael Jordan. He is a 4th rounder who I think most say sucks. And he was out a lot of the season. So we had Dan Feney and others in, while for example Heck is playing LT.
BUT TO JUST SIMPLIFY IT, in 2024 our starting offensive line unit is on the field 92% of the snaps
If you take O-line on for 60% of the snaps in 2025 compared to 92% of the snaps in 2024 . .. and then throw in the skill player drop off too:
Godwin 30% availability (35% in 2024 and record setting early)
Bucky Irving 30% availability (45% in 2024 but because he's splitting time)
Evans 22% availability (59% in 2024 and setting records).
McMillan 3% availability. (55% in 2024 but because he's a roiokie)
Most of 2025 those skill players are ALL OUT together. Compare that to 2024 Evans and McMillan picking up for Godwin out and Irving coming on strong.Egbuka olffsets that some, so credit to Licht for a pick that puzzled many people here.
INJURIES MATTER.
Someone else can decide if they are an "excuse." The Bucs saus si last year wiht LESS injuries (argubaly). I dont know they say that again this year and one reason for that would be a relative healthy defense being the problem.
Every team has injuries. The Bucs were relatively healthy for the Falcons Thursday night collapse - they were without their guards and Kancey basically. Falcons were without their #1 WR and starting QB.
Just 72 hours prior, we rested Evans and Wirfs against the Saints because we thought they'd be a cake walk. Even so, we were the more talented roster and still lost
Injuries were not an excuse for the Saints and Falcons losses? what do you mean it's not true lol. We were the better team in both cases, no?
The talent this year has been below average. Our strengths last year have been destroyed by injury and Licht didn’t upgrade the weaknesses.
injuries are no excuse for the last 2 losses
I’d argue our Defense roster is more talented this year but a worse product. Do you agree? Tell me why not.
Licht could not have developed a more talented offensive roster. Injuries did hurt our output but honestly I still had this team at 10-4 (2 gimme wins that we somehow lost to Atlanta and New Orleans at home, plus add another win, maybe New England that results in a win with healthy team)
at 7-5, there was an excuse for injuries albeit my view is that our record wasn’t much different
At 7-7, what the heck happened?
at 7-8, locker room must be lost
at 8-7, depends how we look, but we love to fight another day
Yeah injuries this late in the season is just an out for Bowles which doesn't seem right to me.
Bucs since the bye have become healthier and healthier and were more competitive earlier in the year with MORE injured players and more rookies seeing playing time like Egbuka, Johnson, Parrish, Roberts.
Also, the Bucs injuries along the OL earlier in the year were forced to start 4th/5th string players. NO GM in the NFL can plan and draft enough depth to have for 4th/5th string. Again this isn''t Madden.
If the Bucs drafted 2 OL in the 2025 draft it would mean the Bucs would be short a DB and WR or even Roberts isn't on the roster. That would be just as bad. The NFL draft only allows a finite amount of draft picks which is why teams that build through the draft like the Bucs take multiple drafts to address needs, development and also depth.
Opinions like this show there are different standards for Bowles than there are for Licht. The disrespect Bowles gets from fans and media is sad honestly. And the slurping Licht gets is pathetic.
Lovie under Licht, fired.
Dirk under Licht, fired.
Arians under Licht without Brady, 7-9.
Bowles under Licht, everyone wants him fired.
At what point is it Licht?
Licht built a great starting offense, sure. But there was no depth on the offensive line.
Give me the list of teams with great depth along the OL.
When Kieft broke his leg he needed to replace him with another fullback type. We can’t run in short yardage now.
Considering how often you shit on Kieft's usage in the past, this is hypocritically hilarious.
We have no edge presence. That’s on Licht. ILBs are terrible. That’s on Licht. He’s put himself into a corner where the only option is to trade for Crosby. Diaby is limited. Braswell has nothing.
It's on Licht, and Bowles. Something you've never had the nads to admit, as you're too busy leghumping the bejesus out of Bowles.
The talent this year has been below average. Our strengths last year have been destroyed by injury and Licht didn’t upgrade the weaknesses.
injuries are no excuse for the last 2 losses
I’d argue our Defense roster is more talented this year but a worse product. Do you agree? Tell me why not.
Licht could not have developed a more talented offensive roster. Injuries did hurt our output but honestly I still had this team at 10-4 (2 gimme wins that we somehow lost to Atlanta and New Orleans at home, plus add another win, maybe New England that results in a win with healthy team)
at 7-5, there was an excuse for injuries albeit my view is that our record wasn’t much different
At 7-7, what the heck happened?
at 7-8, locker room must be lost
at 8-7, depends how we look, but we love to fight another day
Yeah injuries this late in the season is just an out for Bowles which doesn't seem right to me.
Bucs since the bye have become healthier and healthier and were more competitive earlier in the year with MORE injured players and more rookies seeing playing time like Egbuka, Johnson, Parrish, Roberts.
Also, the Bucs injuries along the OL earlier in the year were forced to start 4th/5th string players. NO GM in the NFL can plan and draft enough depth to have for 4th/5th string. Again this isn''t Madden.
If the Bucs drafted 2 OL in the 2025 draft it would mean the Bucs would be short a DB and WR or even Roberts isn't on the roster. That would be just as bad. The NFL draft only allows a finite amount of draft picks which is why teams that build through the draft like the Bucs take multiple drafts to address needs, development and also depth.
Opinions like this show there are different standards for Bowles than there are for Licht. The disrespect Bowles gets from fans and media is sad honestly. And the slurping Licht gets is pathetic.
Lovie under Licht, fired.
Dirk under Licht, fired.
Arians under Licht without Brady, 7-9.Bowles under Licht, everyone wants him fired.
At what point is it Licht?
the point you are missing is that the offense and Mayfield has been a bright spot in the grand scheme of things post Brady; the defense has not
If not for the flier on Baker, Bowles would have been fired likely after 2023 season.
Licht was on the hot seat prior to Brady no doubt.
The expectations were higher now and the defense regressed with more talent; that's on Bowles man.
Bucs make playoffs, Bowles has a shot to retain job; i'd argue a better than 50% chance to keep it
Bucs win a playoff game and he's got nothing to worry about.
The expectations are clear and there's no reason he can't do it. However, we miss playoffs with a healthy team with 3 games to go; or go 8-9 and get in that way and get trounced by Rams; yeah man, time to move in a different direction. This team should at the very least have finished with a winning record after a 5-1 start
Injuries were not an excuse for the Saints and Falcons losses? what do you mean it's not true lol. We were the better team in both cases, no?
Uh . . .
I dont know they say [no to firing Bowles] again this year and one reason for that would be a relative healthy defense being the problem.
Yes, I have posted several time that Bowles will likely get fired because the problem is the defensive collapse, including in critical matches to lesser teams.
By the way though, in the Fab 5 that SR is making ONE argument for why the Bucs might still keep Bowles (if they win out). I don't think they win out, but after saying we are good at offensive skill position and O-line (except for depth), SR says this:
"This is not a Bucs team that is a player or two away from contending for a Super Bowl, and that’s probably why Jason Licht didn’t make a trade at the trade deadline. He knows that.
Right now, this is a team with enough talent to win the NFC South, which is the worst division in football. That’s about it.
FAB 4. Tampa Bay’s Defensive Front Needs A Complete Overhaul
Fixing the defensive front six/seven must be the priority for Jason Licht, Rob McCartney and Mike Biehl this offseason. The Bucs’ top need is at both linebacker spots – inside and outside.
Tampa Bay needs to add at least two, if not three more inside linebackers to the room this offseason – and two of them need to be starting-caliber players.
FAB 5. Bucs Secondary Needs Another Starting-Caliber Cornerback"
The expectations were higher now
SR in the Fab 5
"This is not a Bucs team that is a player or two away from contending for a Super Bowl, and that’s probably why Jason Licht didn’t make a trade at the trade deadline. He knows that."
I agree. What saved Bowles last year was he lost games but didn't lose the team. They rallied. This year they lost two crucial games. Why is this Bowles' fault? Because he didn't have answers this time. He didn't show the ability to figure out a way. He says "I have more games behind me than I do in front of me". Well, the number in front can be counted on one hand at this point. He can look out his side window and get a good look as the game of NFL football is passing him by. It shouldn't be business as usual. Despite all his anger and frustration he doesn't have the ability to come up with new ideas, a new approach, something to spark this team. If he can't do it we owe it to the team and the fans to try to give someone else a chance.The talent this year has been below average. Our strengths last year have been destroyed by injury and Licht didn’t upgrade the weaknesses.
injuries are no excuse for the last 2 losses
It's time to let a younger more innovative mind take on the task of coaching the Buccaneers.
Falcons were without their #1 WR and starting QB.
Penix isn’t a starting level QB for anyone. We faced their starting QB
"This is not a Bucs team that is a player or two away from contending for a Super Bowl, and that’s probably why Jason Licht didn’t make a trade at the trade deadline. He knows that."
LOLZ
Falcons were without their #1 WR and starting QB.
Penix isn’t a starting level QB for anyone. We faced their starting QB
Penix is garbage, Cousins is worse. He only looks like a HOF against us
The expectations were higher now
SR in the Fab 5
"This is not a Bucs team that is a player or two away from contending for a Super Bowl, and that’s probably why Jason Licht didn’t make a trade at the trade deadline. He knows that."
i don't see why not. Take the 5-1 Buccaneers. A team that beat the Seahawks on the road and the 49ers (without Brock); the league is wide open this year
the Conesus top 4 QBs are Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, and Burrow and looks like 3 out of 4 have a good chance not to be in it this year
The Eagles kicked our ass but aside from a few mistakes from the offense (Bucky fumble, Baker poorly timed INT), Bucs have a good shot to win that game.
Detroit is a problem but they may not make playoffs
Rams are a problem and have always had our number
The Bears? Packers? Ehh..they are beatable.
Now dont get me wrong, this 0-2 Bucs squad with the lockerroom potentially lost, yes, we ain't beating the PewterReport Message Board Bros (try outs are tomorrow for our pick-up game with the Bucs defense)
but the Bucs of September/October could certainly have made a run. The fact that many of you fans are already giving up on this team for this year is frightening yet still defending Bowles. This team has the talent and no reason we should not finish with a winning record and thus make playoffs.
i am not arguing for Licht to have made a trade but i think that's more because nobody believes in this team with the current coaching staff. It's the absolute truth. a big reason as to why this team isn't a 11-12 game winner is because of our OC and DC (Grizz and Bowles). This team should at worst have been 9-5 heading into this weekend
Bucs were a SuperBowl contender by many pundits - including Nick Wright and Pete Prisco earlier in the year.
Seems odd, we could have made it with some legitimate d-line pressure. That would allow us to keep the secondary coverage intact, even if it was just average. An edge rush would have been nice to have at the exact moment when the offensive weapons were back in the lineup.The expectations were higher now
SR in the Fab 5
"This is not a Bucs team that is a player or two away from contending for a Super Bowl, and that’s probably why Jason Licht didn’t make a trade at the trade deadline. He knows that."
Baker did toss another late INT - albeit he did endure 5 sacks - but the defense failing to get a stop because Kirk Cousins had zero pressure. He had too much time.
The o-line does seem to have more missing pieces (Mauch out and Bredesen on-then-off for a lot of games), along with the d-line missing edge a pure edge, so maybe that was the thinking… but that conclusion kind of lends itself to the FO/ownership misdiagnosing where we were at in the pre-season during a period when we could have made some additions in free agency.
I think a pure edge rusher was available by the trade deadline, when we knew Reddick wasn’t the answer, but maybe I’m wrong. Would have been good to have that edge right now. Being able to shut down Cousins and get the ball back to Baker with 2 minutes to go, would have made it a little more interesting.
I wonder if maybe they didn’t also lose confidence in Grizz?
We lost because twice the defense couldn't land on a gifted fumble and couldn't get a stop on 3rd and 28.
Baker's pick was bad for sure but it was also a great read/scheme by the defender as he knew he would force it to Evans instead of finding Godwin on the crosser.
The offense scored plenty. The defense lost the game.
The talent this year has been below average. Our strengths last year have been destroyed by injury and Licht didn’t upgrade the weaknesses.
injuries are no excuse for the last 2 losses
I’d argue our Defense roster is more talented this year but a worse product. Do you agree? Tell me why not.
Licht could not have developed a more talented offensive roster. Injuries did hurt our output but honestly I still had this team at 10-4 (2 gimme wins that we somehow lost to Atlanta and New Orleans at home, plus add another win, maybe New England that results in a win with healthy team)
at 7-5, there was an excuse for injuries albeit my view is that our record wasn’t much different
At 7-7, what the heck happened?
at 7-8, locker room must be lost
at 8-7, depends how we look, but we love to fight another day
Yeah injuries this late in the season is just an out for Bowles which doesn't seem right to me.
Bucs since the bye have become healthier and healthier and were more competitive earlier in the year with MORE injured players and more rookies seeing playing time like Egbuka, Johnson, Parrish, Roberts.
Also, the Bucs injuries along the OL earlier in the year were forced to start 4th/5th string players. NO GM in the NFL can plan and draft enough depth to have for 4th/5th string. Again this isn''t Madden.
If the Bucs drafted 2 OL in the 2025 draft it would mean the Bucs would be short a DB and WR or even Roberts isn't on the roster. That would be just as bad. The NFL draft only allows a finite amount of draft picks which is why teams that build through the draft like the Bucs take multiple drafts to address needs, development and also depth.
Opinions like this show there are different standards for Bowles than there are for Licht. The disrespect Bowles gets from fans and media is sad honestly. And the slurping Licht gets is pathetic.
Lovie under Licht, fired.
Dirk under Licht, fired.
Arians under Licht without Brady, 7-9.Bowles under Licht, everyone wants him fired.
At what point is it Licht?
the point you are missing is that the offense and Mayfield has been a bright spot in the grand scheme of things post Brady; the defense has not
If not for the flier on Baker, Bowles would have been fired likely after 2023 season.
Licht was on the hot seat prior to Brady no doubt.
The expectations were higher now and the defense regressed with more talent; that's on Bowles man.
Bucs make playoffs, Bowles has a shot to retain job; i'd argue a better than 50% chance to keep it
Bucs win a playoff game and he's got nothing to worry about.
The expectations are clear and there's no reason he can't do it. However, we miss playoffs with a healthy team with 3 games to go; or go 8-9 and get in that way and get trounced by Rams; yeah man, time to move in a different direction. This team should at the very least have finished with a winning record after a 5-1 start
Displaying the anti-Bowles, pro-Licht bias again. You say Bowles would have been fired if not for Baker, but didn’t Licht draft a QB in the 2nd round in 2021? After essentially trading Josh Allen to the Bills? After drafting a QB #1 overall in 2015?
Brady erased the mistakes of the 2018 draft. Licht was going to take Baker at 7 in 2018. They were going to move off of Winston. So QB was an option. Baker is gone but Josh Allen is there, trades pick to Buffalo. Lamar Jackson is there and he takes Vea.
^^^
The Bucs need to be active in the free agent market this off season. Lot of holes to fill.
Free agency, draft and some trades.
Trade for an edge rusher, draft an edge rusher, sign vet ILB and draft ILB. Probably draft another DL to rotate with Kancey and Vea.
