Don’t Blame The Coach
October 4th, 2025
One of the great special teams aces in Tampa Bay history has spoken out.
Joe’s talking about Hall of Fame cornerback Rondé Barber. He was still playing special teams for the Bucs in his 16th season.
Barber has a WFLA-TV streaming show and tackled the subject of the Bucs’ ailing special teams play this year.
Barber was adamant that special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is a heck of a coach and the Bucs’ screwups aren’t on him.
“It’s players, 100 percent on the players. You’re on the field to do one thing and you have to do your work. If you don’t detail your work, you don’t deserve to be there,” Barber said.
The Jets’ blocked field goal returned for a touchdown two weeks ago was a freakish play by an extraordinary athlete and the Bucs don’t deserve blame, Barber said. But he fingered Sean Tucker, Payne Durham and long snapper Evan Deckers for the other terribly costly screwups this season.
Simple, simple details were skipped, per Barber, and he said the Bucs surely were obsessed with them all week in practice.
“Everybody’s going to be dropping, hands out, feeling potential rushers, so they don’t have the slips and the cracks that led to this blocked kick,” Barber said.
Joe expects the Bucs special teams to be tightened up tomorrow in Seattle. As for the rest of the season, Joe will have to see it to believe it.
October 4th, 2025 at 6:15 pm
Ronde knows ball and the hall.
October 4th, 2025 at 6:31 pm
A great player and a good company man. It doesn’t necessarily have to be scheme to be at least partially the coach’s fault. All-inclusive, as Coach Bowles said.
October 4th, 2025 at 6:56 pm
He sucked for the Giants and he sucks here
October 4th, 2025 at 7:06 pm
Watch tomorrow again blocked punt or FG, these guys are clowns.
October 4th, 2025 at 7:21 pm
The guy jumping over the center should have been a penalty.
Ronde playing STs and being a starting corner/safety in year 16 having missed, what zero games. Stud!
October 4th, 2025 at 7:35 pm
EVERYone in the league is gonna be testing our point team for the next month.
Bucs4ever, WHAT punter will get the ball off in time when a dude gets in unblocked?
October 4th, 2025 at 7:45 pm
There are clowns amongst us….. But its not the guys actually playing or coaching.
October 4th, 2025 at 7:57 pm
When Ronde speaks, I listen!!!
October 4th, 2025 at 7:58 pm
It’s on the coach Ronde. You can point to Xs & Os and talk about execution, injuries, blah blah blah. But when punts get blocked in consecutive games (and many other close calls), and your KO coverage consistently gets gashed, and kicks are blocked, that’s a trend. Look no further than the man who’s supposed to prepare that unit for battle on each and every play. Sorry, this isn’t a one off. We’re well past that point. Bowles better have a new voice on speed dial. Zero margin for error remains for Mr McGaughey moving forward.
October 4th, 2025 at 7:59 pm
Booger as well!
October 4th, 2025 at 8:01 pm
But in a way it’s on coaching. In that Houston, game, there were another 2 punts that were almost blocked as well. It’s def a little bit of both.
October 4th, 2025 at 8:29 pm
Reminds me of the Gio Bernard fiasco
October 4th, 2025 at 8:32 pm
@GoneGator. Sorry did i leave you out?
October 4th, 2025 at 8:48 pm
Uhhhhh No !!! It’s coaching ,,,, these are the coaches players and this is their performance under said coaches !!! Barber likes to talk 🥴….. It’s
100 percent coaching !! Barber is a blinded NFL member of the real reasons are washed and covered by excuses club !! if the NFL was truly run like a business probably 50% of the coaches in the NFL brotherhood would be fired !! It’s an Endowment type protection program . #itsA🐇life🇺🇸……. Go Bucs !!
October 4th, 2025 at 9:04 pm
Somehow I think Ronde knows a lot more about pro football than a bunch of characters on a blog. Go Bucs!!
October 4th, 2025 at 10:32 pm
i know its been a while, but i still blame every turnover on jameis; that sort of cursed luck doesnt just leave when the player responsible does.
October 4th, 2025 at 11:02 pm
Who is responsible for making sure that the fingered culprits in the caper actually improve?
The water boy?
October 5th, 2025 at 12:53 am
Ronde had 2 blocked punts that he returned for TDs. I was looking for the total number of blocks / deflections but didn’t find the number, but I’m pretty sure he had at least a couple more that were not TDs. There’s a reason he’s a HOF, just a stud at everything he did. And, BTW, to block punts, you need to play special teams – and he was a HOF’er playing special teams pretty much his entire career. Now coaches put everyone in bubble wrap and are called retarded if they use a starter on special teams, even as the league has become a bunch of pansies.
October 5th, 2025 at 12:56 am
NCbucfan Says:
October 4th, 2025 at 8:01 pm
But in a way it’s on coaching. In that Houston, game, there were another 2 punts that were almost blocked as well. It’s def a little bit of both.
——–
The one player I’ve noticed again and again on the blocks and almost blocks is Sean Tucker, he is a terrible pass blocker as a RB, so no idea why he’s out there blocking for punters when defenders just run around him like he’s not there. He was responsible for the first blocked punt, and while he didn’t end up being the sole reason for the 2nd block punt, on that play, his guy got there almost the same exact time as the guy who did block it got there. I know the team is plagued with injuries, but he needs to be off the field in those situations.
October 5th, 2025 at 8:20 am
It’s on the coach for NOT shoring up that side properly. It’s a coach’s job to make adjustments. This coach hasn’t done so.
Thomas McGaughey needs to adjust to make the blocking better. If that means taking Tucker of ST then so be it. At least until he gets better and stronger.
BTW, Barber was a coverage guy on ST.
Our punter is good…he just needs better blocking.
October 5th, 2025 at 8:54 am
A good way to fix it is FINE THEM!!!!!
10k is a good start.
If they are not paying attention then bring them back to this reality.
LFG!!!!!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:22 am
If he thinks anyone other than Deckers and Dixon were responsible for the Eagles punt block, he’s just talking to hear
Himself talk. Doesn’t know the assignments. Naming Tucker and Durham prove that. Watch the video Ronde