The annual Bucs swoon under Todd Bowles should not be written off as bad luck.
In fact, it’s become part of the team’s identity.
Joe hates that reality, but there’s no escaping it. If you believe in leadership, then the only conclusion is the leadership fails the Bucs each year.
Bucco Bruce Arians often said good teams don’t lose two games in a row. Well, the Bucs have multiple three game losing streaks this season, and they lost four in a row in 2023 and 2024. They had one three-game slide in 2022, all with Todd Bowles as head coach.
Retired defensive end Chris Long, who has a couple of Super Bowl rings, often dives deep on the Bucs during his Green Light podcast.
He sees patterns with the Bucs not playing their best football when called upon to do so.
Long points to the Bucs having “sh*t down their leg* during last season’s playoff game, and their performances late in 2024.
“They were undisciplined down the stretch. There were games they were not ready to play,’ Long said. “That Dallas game, they were not ready to play. That New Orleans game, they were not ready to play. They let Washington do exactly what Washington wanted to do. I know what Washington wanted to do; Washington wanted to possess the football and go on long drives and tire [the Bucs] out. And they did it. That shouldn’t be a team that can outphysical you.”
Nowadays, Long sees a Bucs team that has mental problems.
“You keep banking on them wanting it more, like wanting it more will make them play to a level of detail that they haven’t,” Long said. “But it’s like they’re too flatlined. Like nothing really pushes them to elevate their play. I think they got to stop feeling sorry for themselves and pulls their fuc*’n heads out of their asses and realize you win two games, you’re going to go to the playoffs.”
Still, Long thinks the Bucs can win the NFC South and win a playoff game. He thinks they are talented enough to go that far. But he’s not confident because of their history. “When they get unwell, they don’t come back quick,” he said.
Long is not high on Bowles’ performance and feels like the Bucs might have missed the boat by not hiring Dave Canales or Liam Coen to replace him. And now they don’t have that in-house option to maintain a level of continuity.
“[Josh] Grizzard isn’t the next thing, so now you’re sitting here with your thumb up your ass,” Long said. “More of the same.”