Vita Vea: Bucs Feel Better Than 2021 Team
October 14th, 2025
“He shouldn’t talk about my team like that, Mike.”
Jamel Dean thinks the current Bucs are better than the 2020 Super Bowl team. His teammate of that glorious season has a similar mindset.
Vita Vea was as huge part of the 2021 Bucs, the club that ran away with the NFC South crown and lost to the Rams in the playoffs.
Those Bucs started 5-1, too. Vea thinks the current edition is better.
“It feels like this team is better than that team,” Vea told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “Yeah, I would say in, in certain areas. It feels really good but at the same time, I think in college our coach always told us, ‘never listen to the outside noise.’
“…Start listening to it and you get soft from it and you buy into it. So you just gotta try to stay rooted and locked in on the task at hand. I think enjoy it for the moment. But there’s still a lot more work to do. I think 5-1 is pretty good, but there’s a whole lot of more games to play.”
The 2021 Bucs, of course, didn’t have as many injuries as this year’s team. Even when Tom Brady was targeting bottom-of-the roster receivers Cyril Grayson and Tyler Johnson late that season, they still had Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evans on the field.
Joe still wonders what would have happened if Antonio Brown hadn’t lost his mind on the January day in New Jersey. His presence might have been enough to go the distance.
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October 14th, 2025 at 2:47 pm
Yes if Antonio Brown hadn’t lost his mind maybe they could’ve gone the distance again for back to back rings. So circumstances do matter in spite of what the hard driving “no excuses “ crowd thinks. Even for the goat!
October 14th, 2025 at 2:50 pm
Just be very carful especially with our division games….
Examples Carolina 30 Atlanta 0
Giants 34 Eagles 17
Always tough…..
Stay focused….and hope we get healthier.
October 14th, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Tristan Wirfs not playing against the Rams was brutal. If he’d played I guess it would be enough to knock the Rams, the 49ers and the Bengals
October 14th, 2025 at 2:59 pm
I’m not bashing Vita, but why was he out of the game on that first drive by San Fran out of halftime. He was in for like maybe 6 snaps, then was sitting on sidelines even as the 49ers had short yardage situations. No way he should have been tired already.
Again, I’m not bashing, what I’d guess is that Bowles wanted him fresh-ish for the 4th quarter. But that’s like playing that awful super soft zone defense for all the 2nd and 3rd quarters, because you’re going to ‘shock’ the opponent by suddenly getting out of that defense in the 4th, or like vs the Seahawks, you’re going to wait until there’s a minute left to drop out of that terrible zone that let them go 5 series in a row scoring a TD.
Just hear me out here… but maybe if the Bucs defense didn’t play so soft, maybe the opponent wouldn’t still be in the game in the 4th quarter. Maybe you could put teams away early.
With that said, I’ll counter my own argument, and it’s a legit counter. In the Jets game, Bowles was very aggressive, and the Bucs did appear to put the game away early, only for the defense to run out of gas. Perhaps that is Bowles thinking? If so, it’s not a ridiculous line of reasoning. But that Jets game was also exceptionally hot, something they won’t be dealing with the rest of the season, and certainly weren’t dealing with in Seattle.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:01 pm
TBBF, wise observation.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:04 pm
Also, you had AB’s insanity, Edwards and AB with the fake vax cards and Devin White regressing hard. Character is way better now.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:05 pm
One game at a time! Next man up! Detroit will be very tough!! Focus and make plays!! Get it done!!!!!
October 14th, 2025 at 3:10 pm
This game is huge. If Bucs can overcome their injuries and win this will position them into a great chance of getting the number one seed.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:10 pm
people still complaining about the defense after it produces 2 INT, 6 Sacks and held a 1 loss team to under 20pts lol….
folks crying over yardage is hilarious!!!!
6-1!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 14th, 2025 at 3:14 pm
It was surreal to just have looked at the new ESPN Power Rankings and see the Bucs at #1. I’m still shaking my head.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:22 pm
With the 24th ranked scoring defense in the NFL, this team is nowhere as good as that team was despite the similar records.
Our Defense absolutely has to play better. Licht should be on the phone dealing for Trey Hendrickson. Our lack of pass rush will probably keep this team from a deep playoff run, unfortunately.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:22 pm
Entirely too much hype. The Bucs got 5 wins, but they beat Brock Purdy’s backup with backup receivers. They beat the Jets. They beat Atlanta before they fired their OC, which appears to have mattered. Pump the brakes on all this best Bucs team ever stuff. Any old Bucs fan remembers FIVE DASH ONE and knows it means nothing. There are no easy games on the schedule this season. Carolina looks better. Atlanta will be tough again. Right down the list. Maybe Miami… and maybe New Orleans. So you win those three, that’s 8. But it will take 11 or 12 and maybe more to get that 1 seed.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:23 pm
PFT also has them at #1,
One game at a time, as it should be. We saw what the giants did to the eagles and falcons against the bills and Carolina against the falcons.
The bills, lambs don’t look as tough as they did earlier but then again the panthers don’t look as bad. Any given Sunday. I’d really like to take it to the lions up in Motown tho on Monday night.
Also – agree if Brown and wirfs are playing against the lambs we are in the nfc championship game 4 seasons ago. Probably would have beat the niners too.
Damn shame that guy is imbalanced.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:25 pm
813BucBoi,
It’s about the entire body of work. I’m that game they were able to play better when it mattered. BUT.. the lack of pass rush in other games and being ranked the 24th scoring D in the NFL is a major concern.
Anyone who doesn’t get that doesn’t understand football.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:29 pm
Don’t worry we got Braswell and Reddick. I’m sure they’re about to break out.
Right?
October 14th, 2025 at 3:29 pm
I love this team and am thoroughly enjoying this season. But I just don’t think we’ll win it all. Too many defensive weaknesses, and the playoffs expose defensive weakness.
In fact, I can’t remember any Super Bowl champion that didn’t have at least a Top 15 defense.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:34 pm
shaq barret and jpp and suh made the defense alot better . both offenses are very good
October 14th, 2025 at 3:38 pm
GET VEA INTO CONCUSSION PROTOCOL
VV is claiming this team is better than:
TB12, Gronk, AB, prime-Evans, prime-Godwin, prime-LVD, Pro Bowl Marpet, Ryan Jensen, 4Net, Suh, JPP, prime-Shaq, prime-CDIII, prime-Dean, All Pro 2nd Team-Devin White, rookie sensation (peace sign outlawing)-AWJ, rookie sensation-Wirfs, Arians HC, Spytek AGM.
So … No. no. no, everywhere no.
In fact, name one position that is better?
(If you say Wirfs at LT, Devin Smith gave up 0 sacks that year.)
Get VV head checked.
HILARIOUS QUOTE BTW
“In college, our coach always said, ‘never listen to the outside noise.’”
VV’s a Washington Husky. They are total dbags so makes sense to not listen. No joke, his coach once told the Pac-12 that UW only considers Stanford their academic equal. Every other school is beneath them.
October 14th, 2025 at 3:42 pm
So much negativity around here still!
The D is fine. It’s certainly not worse than the last couple years. We just need the full compliment of DBs available.
Brown going nuts absolutely cost us. Whether it cost the SB or not we will never know but Bowles prolly knew it and it’s why he was talking offense before the draft. Evans Godwin AB Gronk was impossible to stop. As long as Mike, Chris, Emeka and Bucky get healthy the Bucs pose the same problem to opposing defenses and the Bucs D can stay middling.
As far as who we have played and how much we have won by… you can say the same about most teams. Bills look rough, Packers beat the Lions week 1 caught them sleeping but haven’t don’t anything else of note. Bucs are in as good a shape as anyone.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:00 pm
This, went, stupid quick. Another prediction. id bet, 16-1 bucs.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:01 pm
we haven’t really pulled away…yet…
atlanta and carolina are still hanging tough…
especially if you consider a 2nd loss for us on monday night…
all of a sudden if they win again, things tighten up…
if we win in detroit, and a win in new orleans could have us pulling away from the southern pack
October 14th, 2025 at 4:03 pm
Slow down, man. This team has done nothing yet. This is recency bias. Wait until they get their ass kicked in Detroit.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:04 pm
I like our offense a lot better than the 2021 team. Defense not so much, but I am hopeful they will build on the 49er’s game. Big test in Detroit for the Defense.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:05 pm
if we go into detroit and win on monday night……..this team is better than we all think…!!
we could be f’in with something like a 14-3 type record then…
who knows – we shall see…
but from the way it looks rn, we seem to be at least a 12 win squad…
(i had us at 11-6 before the season)
October 14th, 2025 at 4:18 pm
If we don’t got the weapons to do curtain things we improvise that’s what Todd does and it’s winning it’s that simple
October 14th, 2025 at 4:21 pm
If you’re comparing the 2021 defense and this years so far 2021 wins hand down. That team gave up 20 pts per game and this Bucs defense is at 25.
October 14th, 2025 at 4:24 pm
Maxx Crosby….go get us a MadMaxx Jason!
October 14th, 2025 at 4:34 pm
When brown ran off the field that day, I knew our season was over. I was crushed
October 14th, 2025 at 4:44 pm
It’s just a name Joe, don’t be such a snowflake.
Joe is not a snowflake.
Joe always thought a snowflake is one who is easily offended or whose feelings are hurt because they don’t get what they want. Joe chooses to run a non-political website. Surely you don’t have a problem with that in a free country, and in a business environment where many advertisers what no part of politics? This is not a free speech zone. –Joe
October 14th, 2025 at 4:45 pm
bowles blitz killed is against the Rams otw a good coach
October 14th, 2025 at 5:02 pm
It’s just a name Joe, don’t be such a snowflake.
Joe is not a snowflake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah, Joe wasn’t offended by Hunter’s crack pipe.
October 14th, 2025 at 5:04 pm
Listen up. “Start listening to it and you’ll get soft from it”. “but there’s a whole lot of more games to play”. Our veteran players know this time of year that the talk is ALL CHEAP. That’s just another reason why we’re such a good football team. We’re learning that. Just maybe we’ve learned that. Niners forgotten, Lions dead in our sights.
October 14th, 2025 at 5:06 pm
Nutcase Brown was a gift to Tom Brady. Why, I don’t know cos the 2020 SB team sure didn’t need him. Can we kindly move on from Brady? He’s history. I’m a Bucs fan and I sure don’t dwell on Brad Johnson. This is the 2025 Bucs, who are the walking wounded, and are 5-1. Why is that? Brady, Gronkowski, and fruitcake AB are past chapters. This fan is focused on now. Can we beat the Lions in their den like we did last year? That’s what I’m interested in reading about. It is starting to sound like things might be evening up for these 2 teams. Go Bucs!!
October 14th, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Compare after the SB
Win then talk smack
October 14th, 2025 at 6:46 pm
from Vea himself ““…Start listening to it and you get soft from it and you buy into it.”. a cautionary tale.
loads of media and fans and bloggers and podcasters act like or think the season is over, it’s just started. the mvp talk is for fools.