Bucs’ Identity, Good And Bad
December 6th, 2025
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
Joe always hears football people talk about how football begins after Thanksgiving. That’s when the wheat is separated from the chaff, the contenders from the pretenders.
Most coaches build their teams to hit overdrive when December comes around. That’s when playoff seeding and division winners are decided.
On the good side of this for the Bucs is whenever the Bucs lead at halftime, the Bucs are undefeated this season, 7-0. Flip the coin and tomorrow’s opponent, the slimy Saints, have only scored first in one game.
So if the Bucs have their ducks in a row, this shouldn’t be a difficult game for the Bucs if you believe in trends. But now here is the bad: Joe typed this week about being dubious that the Bucs can fix their defense in December.
By now, in December, your team’s identity is pretty established, for better or for worse. In December, if everyone is healthy, there’s no cavalry coming way past the trade deadline. Anyone worth a s(p)it is employed.
As Dirk Koetter once said of December football, “Our guys are our guys.”
Yes, Joe knows Calijah Kancey may or may not return to the team before the end of the season. Will he magically make the pass defense any better by himself?
Joe spoke about the following with the Sage of Tampa Bay sports, Ira Kaufman, on his podcast this week. Could Ira remember any team, barring stud players returning from an injury, that was able to fix a defense (or an offense) in December?
Former Bucs great Rondé Barber also has reservations.
Joe couldn’t think of a team. Neither could Ira.
So unless Joe sees the Bucs’ defense hold the slimy Saints to one score from the New Orleans offense, Joe believes the sieve of a Bucs pass is part of who the team is this year.
December 6th, 2025 at 12:05 pm
Using Joes own numbers.. it ain’t just this year. It’s the last seven years.
Don’t get it twisted. When your run defense is as dominant as the Bucs’ used to be under Bowles, teams will throw more on you and your passing yardage rankings won’t be as good. Nowadays, however, the run defense is not special. –Joe
December 6th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
I hope we DO NOT see defensive linemen in coverage.
That ship has sailed.
December 6th, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Your identity is routinely letting teams run wide aas open across all levels of your defense. Soft AF
December 6th, 2025 at 12:51 pm
Even Air Coryell and Dan Fouts couldn’t win without a defense
December 6th, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Or Don Coryell and Jim Hart.
Coryell’s playoff record is frightening.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
The run defense had a good year in 2022 ranking 9th. Except for that it has ranked
21st twice, 29th twice, and 30th once since 2019. That’s below average to poor 5 years.
Didn’t look up the pass defense since I didn’t want to blow my lunch.
Maybe a hc who’s a defensive guru would have a better defense with a better
defensive coach.
Could be the “great run defense ” is a false opinion.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:22 pm
Joe wrote about this earlier this week. Just once since 2019 have the Bucs had a pass defense better than 21st in the league.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:23 pm
I don’t have it twisted Joe why would you bother to run on a team when your past defense is putrid?
Kind of the converse of what you’re saying. Our run defense was so good because we were so bad at the pass and still are.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:39 pm
This defense seems to go as Dean goes. The games he is out injured they stink. The games he plays they are decent. I think Bowles tries to overcorrect for his absence and the whole defense suffers by them playing more zone and less blitzing.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:40 pm
And who is in charge of all this trash. Time for Bowles to go. Not just make him hire a DC.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:48 pm
Google AI comes up with the same number ranking for run and pass defense. Don’t have the patience to look up every year by year to see what the numbers are. The eye test tells us the defense isn’t average so that’s on the defensive guru. Period.
December 6th, 2025 at 1:58 pm
The D has the talent on it but it looks the way it looks because of the scheme/system that’s being run. Sure the players aren’t perfect but if the scheme/system changed watch how much would probably change on that D. Yaya would probably have a couple of more sacks if they just stopped dropping into coverage. He’d probably be up to 10 or so then.