{"id":671966,"date":"2026-01-12T17:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/671966\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:47:21","slug":"assigning-blame-is-easy-joebucsfan-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/671966\/","title":{"rendered":"Assigning Blame Is Easy – JoeBucsFan.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Click through to BillCurrieFord.com to see the extraordinary January offers. Family-owned in Tampa since 1960! Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan is ready to help you PERSONALLY and give you the Ira Kaufman discount on top of their sale prices. Don\u2019t Worry, Drive Currie!<\/p>\n

BY IRA KAUFMAN<\/p>\n

The final autopsy for the 2025 Buccaneers is in. It\u2019s damning and it\u2019s complicated.<\/p>\n

The initial judgment is simple \u2014 two things can be true at the same time. This team was poorly coached and this roster was exposed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Todd Bowles<\/p>\n

First up, the coaching.<\/p>\n

Despite all the key injuries, the 2025 Bucs underachieved at 8-9. A 6-2 club at the bye week in a lousy division has no business missing the playoffs. Even with his late-season struggles, Baker Mayfield remains the best quarterback in the NFC South and he took virtually every snap through 17 starts.<\/p>\n

A ravaged defense was hardly decimated by injuries, yet Tampa Bay rarely made big stops in the final nine games.<\/p>\n

Is Calijah Kancey that much of a difference-maker?\u00a0Hardly.<\/p>\n

Special teams play was a major issue, and that\u2019s on the coaching staff. Too many kicks were blocked and too many kickoff returns went for big yardage. The game in Buffalo was a prime example. You can\u2019t keep giving Josh Allen short fields to work with. Those gaffes cost the Bucs dearly in a shootout.<\/p>\n

Tackling was subpar \u2026 again. There were far too many mis-communications in pass coverage. This defense couldn\u2019t cover running backs in the flat. That issue started early in the season opener at Atlanta and Bowles never made the necessary adjustments.<\/p>\n

This team rarely matched the energy level of the opposition, and that\u2019s unacceptable. You\u2019d need one heck of a memory to recall a big hit by a defender that galvanized teammates. When the Bucs played at Miami, in a game of vital importance for the visitors, the Dolphins displayed more urgency.<\/p>\n

Going forward, this defensive scheme needs to be streamlined. Judging by the flurry of coverage breakdowns, It\u2019s too complex. Rond\u00e9 Barber, who knows a thing or two about pass defense, suggests Bowles needs to simplify the plans he\u2019s asking his young secondary to execute.<\/p>\n

Yes, Bowles had a bad year. He\u2019s the head coach and this staff didn\u2019t maximize the skill set of Buc players. The Glazers decided to give him another chance to keep this franchise relevant in the power rankings. He enters a prove-it-or-else season next fall.<\/p>\n

And now for the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

Jason Licht has done a lot of good things as Tampa Bay\u2019s general manager since 2014. His first draft pick, Mike Evans, is likely to own a gold jacket. That\u2019s a heck of a start. Licht learned from his mistakes, and that\u2019s the sign of a sharp executive.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s got a glaring weak spot that caught up with the Bucs last season.<\/p>\n

The same guy who drafted Evans, Tristan Wirfs, Chris Godwin, Luke Goedeke, Tykee Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. has found little success drafting dynamic players for the front seven on defense.<\/p>\n

Licht signed Shaq Barrett and Ndamukong Suh as free agents. He traded for Jason Pierre-Paul. Those moves contributed greatly to the 2020 championship run, but they\u2019re gone and capable replacements haven\u2019t arrived.<\/p>\n

Here are the front seven draft picks under Licht: Kwon Alexander, Noah Spence, Devante Bond, Kendell Beckwith, Steve Tu\u2019ikolovatu, Vita Vea, Jack Cichy, Devin White, Anthony Nelson, Terry Beckner Jr., Khalil Davis, Chapelle Russell, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, K.J. Britt, Grant Stuard, Logan Hall, Andre Anthony, Calijah Kancey, YaYa Diaby, SirVocea Dennis, Jos\u00e9 Ramirez, Chris Braswell, David Walker and Elijah Roberts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bucs GM Jason Licht.<\/p>\n

Out of those 24 players, only a few have made much of an impact at One Buc Place.<\/p>\n

Bowles has tried to cobble together a pass rush without an edge rusher that keeps opposing offensive coordinators up at night. Licht swung and missed on Haason Reddick. He\u2019ll be a free agent again in March and there\u2019s not a team in the league that will offer big money for his services.<\/p>\n

The sack numbers dropped in 2025, but that\u2019s not the end of the story. Pocket quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins, Matt Stafford, Sam Darnold and Jared Goff were rarely moved off their comfort zones. Instead of applying pressure, the Buc defense faced the pressure of trying to contest passes from a clean pocket.<\/p>\n

A healthy Kancey would have helped, but let\u2019s be realistic \u2014 he\u2019s not the second coming of Aaron Donald.<\/p>\n

The Bucs need a winning edge at the edge and a tone-setter at inside linebacker. Those are the offseason priorities and it\u2019s up to Licht and his inner circle to address the deficiencies on this roster.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen what Bowles can do as a defensive play-caller when he has a full toolbox. Just ask Patrick Mahomes. Now Bowles is under the spotlight, as he deserves to be after a losing season.<\/p>\n

But Licht has some explaining to do when it comes to forging a credible pass rush. This team needs an ass-kicker up front and a rangy, physical stud roaming the middle of the field.<\/p>\n

Coaching matters, of course. Bowles has much to prove and ownership won\u2019t tolerate another losing season. The NFC South won\u2019t stay down forever and the Bucs are in danger of being left behind.\u00a0But in the end, its the players who are most responsible for success or failure.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to like about this roster, especially if the offensive line remains healthy, yet there are issues on defense that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see how adept Licht is at fixing a hole where the completions get in.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One mile north of the stadium on Dale Mabry Highway!<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Click through to BillCurrieFord.com to see the extraordinary January offers. Family-owned in Tampa since 1960! Bill Currie Ford…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2077],"tags":[211,2599,2598,7,6,704,250,2597,2596],"class_list":{"0":"post-671966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-buccaneers","9":"tag-bucs-message-boards","10":"tag-bucs-news","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-tampa-bay","14":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","15":"tag-tampabay","16":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115883386448349875","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}