Welcome to SR’s Fab 5 – my weekly insider column on the Bucs that features five things that are on my mind. SR’s Fab 5 is now a quicker read, but still packs a punch. Enjoy!

This week’s SR’s Fab 5 column is dedicated to the 5 things Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles must do in 2023 to be successful. Up next Friday: 5 things that offensive coordinator Dave Canales must do in 2023 to be successful.

FAB 1. Todd Bowles Should Retain Defensive Play-Calling Duties

There is a perception around the league that Todd Bowles may be on the hot seat entering the 2023 season. I don’t necessarily think he should be, as the Bucs won the NFC South division last year in Bowles’ first season as head coach. And he was not allowed to make any changes to the coaching staff after inheriting Bruce Arians’ crew after the legendary head coach abruptly retired so late in the offseason on March 30.

But the facts are that the Bucs finished 8-9 in Bowles’ debut, and got crushed at home in the first round of the playoffs by the Cowboys, 31-14. Throw in the fact that the Glazers have fired Lovie Smith and Greg Schiano after just two seasons in Tampa Bay, and it’s not out of the question to think that Bowles might need to win at least nine games this year to bolster his job security.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and co-DC Kacy Rodgers – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So if this could be Bowles’ last season on the job, he needs to act like he’s going down swinging. That means retaining the play-calling duties on defense rather than putting fate in the hands of another. At the end of the 2022 season, Bowles said he might turn the play-calling duties over to either of his co-defensive coordinators — Larry Foote or Kacy Rodgers. He’s expected to use training camp and the preseason to evaluate both and then make a decision on who to tab as the play-caller – or retain the duties himself.

Bowles is a gifted play-caller and for as much grief as he’s taken about the role of the defense in the playoff loss to the Rams in 2021, remember that it was Bowles’ defense that was the star of the show in the 31-9 Super Bowl LV victory over the Chiefs. Keeping Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s high-octane offense out of the end zone is no ordinary feat.

Bowles’ defense was actually quite good last year and didn’t experience much drop off from the 2021 unit that helped the Bucs produce a 13-4 record, which was the best in franchise history. While the run defense took a step back, the pass defense took a noticeable step forward, except in interceptions.

Tampa Bay’s defense held opponents to 21 points or less in 10 games last year, winning seven of them. That’s good enough to win with in the modern-day NFL. Considering the Bucs only won eight games in 2022, the defense did its job in all but one of those victories.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and DT Calijah Kancey – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs have plenty of new toys on defense, including defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who was the team’s first-round pick. Kancey is expected to start alongside second-year defensive tackle Logan Hall and Pro Bowl nose tackle Vita Vea to form the quickest and most athletic defensive line that Bowles has ever fielded.

Bowles also helped draft a pair outside linebackers in YaYa Diaby and Jose Ramirez, a promising young linebacker in SirVocea Dennis, and added starting strong safety Ryan Neal in free agency. That’s an awful lot of new toys for Bowles to play with this year.

Bowles said that the Bucs’ two most improved players last year were cornerback Jamel Dean and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, and both re-signed this offseason, in addition to getting linebacker and team captain Lavonte David back. Tampa Bay’s defense has never had this much athletic talent and team speed. Not even during the Super Bowl season.

I just can’t see Bowles wanting to turn down the chance to play “real-life Madden” with this defensive unit and hand his PlayStation controller over to someone else. Nor should he.

FAB 2. Get Back To Blitzing

Todd Bowles and the Bucs defense did a lot less blitzing in 2022 than they did in 2021. Was this because Bowles got gun-shy due to all-out blitzing Matthew Stafford in the final moments of the Bucs’ home playoff loss to the Rams in 2021 when Stafford and Cooper Kupp burned them for a 44-yard gain to set up the game-winning field goal? Probably not, but for one of the league’s most aggressive defensive play-callers, it was a moment where the sting of defeat likely lingered a bit.

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett and ILB Devin White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The reason Bowles didn’t blitz as much last year was to improve the Bucs’ pass defense, which ranked 24th in the league in 2021, allowing 245.3 yards per game through the air. By playing softer coverage, Tampa Bay’s secondary didn’t allow nearly as many big plays in the passing game as it did the year before. As a result, the Bucs’ pass defense ranked ninth last year, allowing just 208.8 yards per game.

Bowles wisely looked at the 2022 schedule and saw a slew of veteran quarterbacks like Dallas’ Dak Prescott, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Stafford and decided to be risk-averse with his blitzing. While that approach may have been sound in theory, it didn’t net the results Bowles was looking for.

The Bucs’ interception total fell from 17 in 2021 to just 10 picks last year by playing too soft and not bringing enough pressure. Even worse, that approach did not help the Bucs win games. Tampa Bay was 2-5 against those quarterbacks.

The Bucs blitzed 45.4% of the time and had a pressure rate of 28.6% in 2021. Last year, the Bucs blitzed 28.3% of the time and had a pressure rate of 21.9%.

With more speed on the field this year defensively, especially upfront with two fast, athletic defensive tackles in Logan Hall and Calijah Kancey, Bowles should get back to blitzing more often. Blitzes don’t always mean that the blitzer or blitzers will be the ones getting the sacks.

Sometimes the blitzer, whether it’s an inside linebacker or a safety or cornerback blitzing from the slot, will be the one who is picked up by an offensive lineman or a tight end. And that creates a sudden, winnable one-on-one for an outside linebacker off the edge or a defensive tackle up the middle.

Bowles has two of the league’s best blitzers in inside linebacker Devin White and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. White had a career-high nine sacks in 2020 and has 20.5 in his four years in Tampa Bay. Winfield already has nine career sacks in three seasons, including a career-high four last year.

Bucs ILB Devin White and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As Bowles and his defensive coaches glance at the upcoming 2023 schedule, it looks far more favorable at the quarterback position. The likes of future Hall of Famers like Rodgers, Mahomes and Jackson last year have been replaced by the likes of Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, New Orleans’ Derek Carr and Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence this year. The most accomplished quarterback the Bucs defense will face is Buffalo’s MVP candidate Josh Allen.

But the 2023 slate has Bowles matching wits with a lot of very young, less-accomplished quarterbacks, including Chicago’s Justin Fields, Dertoit’s Jared Goff, Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Atlanta’s Desmond Ridder (twice). And there is a chance the Bucs could face all four rookie QBs who were drafted in the first two rounds this year in Bryce Young (twice), Houston’s CJ Stroud, Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson and Tennessee’s Will Levis.

Yet facing young or inexperienced QBs doesn’t always guarantee success, as Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams wrote about last year in an article called Bucs, Bowles Have Spotty Success vs. Rookie QBs And Backups. The Bucs lost to rookie quarterbacks in San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Ridder, in addition to fourth-string QB PJ Walker in Carolina.

Still, young and inexperienced signal-callers typically don’t handle pressure as well as veterans. So Bowles needs to take more chances and dial up more blitzes to bring more pressure this season.

FAB 3. Play More Press-Man Coverage Outside

Should Todd Bowles blitz more in 2023, he should marry those blitzes with more press-man coverage on the outside with cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean. And even when he’s not bringing pressure, playing more press-man should be dialed up in 2023 because Davis and Dean thrive in that type of coverage.

Davis and Dean are both long, 6-foot-1 corners that are well-built at 206 pounds and physical at the line of scrimmage and down the field. They have the ideal traits and fearless mentality to play more press-man. So why not let them do what they do best?

Bucs CB Jamel Dean and WR Olamide Zaccheaus – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bowles wanted to limit big passing plays down field by playing more off coverage in 2022 and erasing the chances of balls flying over the heads of his defensive backs. That approach worked as Tampa Bay allowed 37 fewer passing yards per game last year, and the Bucs pass defense improved from the 24th-ranked unit in 2021 to the ninth-best in 2022.

But playing more conservative coverage led to far fewer interceptions. By putting the Bucs cornerbacks in position to be closer to the receivers with more press-man coverage, they’ll have a better chance of creating more pass breakups and hopefully more picks. Dean had just two of the Bucs’ 10 total interceptions and Davis had only one.

Jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage can also disrupt the timing of passes going across the middle. That could lead to opportunistic interceptions from the likes of safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Ryan Neal and linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White.

Playing press-man coverage more often married with blitzes up front should also cause quarterbacks to hang on to the ball longer if executed properly. That should lead to more sacks, and hopefully more sack-fumbles, as QBs will have to wait a second more for receivers to try break free of Davis and Dean’s grasp on the outside off the line of scrimmage.

Bowles’ cornerbacks don’t need to play press-man on an every down basis. Blitzing more will lead to more single coverage and less safety help as it is. But Davis and Dean are two of the better island cornerbacks in the league and both make over $12 million per season. Let them earn their money by putting them in position to make more plays on the ball.

FAB 4. Put Carlton Davis III On WR1 More Often

Carlton Davis III has been called a “shutdown cornerback” at times during his five years in Tampa Bay. But he really got a chance to shine and earn that moniker last year against Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in an epic Week 15 showdown. The Bucs raced out to a 17-3 halftime lead, but lost, 34-23, due to four untimely turnovers by a Tampa Bay offense that epicly imploded in the second half.

In a rare moment where Bucs head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles decided to have his top cornerback shadow Chase and follow him all over the field, Davis rose to the occasion. Chase was targeted eight times, but Davis blanketed him and only allowed three catches when matched up against the star receiver, allowing just 32 yards. According to Next Gen Stats, Davis forced five tight-window throws and came away with four pass breakups and an interception against Chase and the Bengals.

“He competed,” Bowles said about Davis’ performance on Chase after the game. “He did a lot of things well – two or three things, we can help him out with or he can do better. But he competed, he didn’t give up the deep ball. He’s heard it all week. Chase has made great catches and runs on everybody – he’s a great receiver. Carlton competed and he made some plays for us.”

Bucs CB Carlton Davis III – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Davis, who often plays left cornerback while Jamel Dean plays right cornerback, loves being challenged like that. Bowles should deploy him like that against a top receiver more often in 2023 if Davis is going to turn in more tour de force performances like that. Davis recently spoke about his battle with Chase in a fantastic article by Tyler Dunne titled “Carlton Davis Bows To No Man.”

“So when I f–k people up, and you take the stats, that’s all off the strength of my technique and respect,” Davis told Dunne in his exclusive. “You ask other players who’s the best corner, they probably won’t say my name because I don’t have the clout and the hype behind. But when they come and see me or if you ask offensive coordinators — What do you think about him? — regardless of what they say, the film’s going to show I f–ked them up.

“They don’t win reps against me. They don’t catch passes against me. They don’t get the same average yards against me. The f–cking people on Twitter are f–king mad at me because their f–king fantasy points were shitty this week. If you had Ja’Marr Chase on your fantasy team? You’re mad! Who’s responsible for that? I followed him the whole game.”

With Dean entering his fifth season and third as a full-time starter, he has enough experience to do the same thing and follow a No. 2 receiver all over the field when Davis is charged with shadowing an opponent’s primary weapon. It doesn’t have to be an every week staple in Bowles’ defense, but Davis should be used as a shutd0wn, shadow defender multiple times throughout the year.

And given the fact that Davis has struggled with injuries in the past and has never played a full season since entering the league in 2018, why not use Davis in this manner when he’s healthy, and then revert to more zone defense when he’s not available?

FAB 5. Rally The Troops

The Bucs have been dismissed and disrespected all offseason. From being forecast near the bottom of most offseason media NFL power rankings to having a Top 10 pick next year in way-too-early mock drafts, most people have counted out the Bucs before the season has even started. As Pewter Report’s Bailey Adams wrote this offseason, The Bucs Need To Realize No One Believes In Them.

Head coach Todd Bowles needs to circle the wagons around his Buccaneers. Bowles must have his staffers collect every bit of negativity and pessimism from ESPN and NFL Network clips and every Internet story geared towards the men in pewter and red and use it to motivate his team this season.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield has already responded to the doubters this offseason, and Bowles could take a cue from his new quarterback. Part of being an effective football head coach is playing the role of team motivator. That doesn’t always have to come in the form of yelling and screaming and cussing guys out.

The low-key Bowles has been criticized by fans for not being as animated as his mentor and predecessor, Bruce Arians. While Bowles has got to stay true to himself, it wouldn’t hurt to amp up his swagger and play the disrespect card this year. Players and team typically get motivated when there is a chip on their shoulder. It’s Bowles’ job to routinely point out that chip and make sure it stays there on their collective shoulders all season long.

Nearly the entire NFL media community has given Bowles plenty of ammunition to load up for his team this offseason. Now, all Bowles and the Bucs have to do is fire away come September – and prove the doubters wrong.

There is always a team or two that comes out of nowhere and surprises the league every year. Last season it was Jacksonville, Detroit and Seattle. Perhaps Bowles’ new offensive coordinator that he imported from Seattle, Dave Canales, can bring some Seahawks mojo with him to Tampa Bay, and the Bucs can be this year’s surprise team without Tom Brady.

Why not? Three-peating as NFC South champions isn’t as far-fetched as it seems for Tampa Bay, especially in the downtrodden NFC South – a division that is still up for grabs.