Taking Issue With Low Bucs Expectation
May 24th, 2026
Dissed.
It seems one member of the Buccaneers Radio Network is getting tired of the Bucs being downplayed if not mocked.
Recently, Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports typed that indirectly, the Bucs will inspire change this fall by being a victim to a tough final few games of the season. As a result, Vacchiano believes the Bucs are the No. 22 team in the NFL.
And yes, that means the Bucs will miss the playoffs. And we all know how Team Glazer doesn’t like back-to-back losing seasons that result in no playoffs.
This lowly expectation of the Bucs had Pat Donovan of WDAE-AM 620/WDAE-FM 95.7 irked. Donovan, co-host of “The Pat and Aaron Show,” would like to know how in the world Vacchiano can conclude several teams will be better than the Bucs.
“I think in a lot of ways the New York Giants are going to get better,” Donovan said looking at Vacchiano’s rankings. “Are they ready to be the 19th-best team in football?
“Better than the Atlanta Falcons? Better than the Dallas Cowboys? Better than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I personally don’t believe so.”
Joe gets Donovan’s point. Yes, the Giants got a major upgrade at head coach. But is Jaxson Dart going to be better? Is invisible Abdul Carter going to put down his phone long enough to get a sack? His four-sack season last year isn’t going to get the job done. (And this guy had the gall to want to wear Lawrence Taylor’s number. Can you imagine?)
Vacchiano had the Stinking Panthers at No. 18 and Donovan didn’t have a real issue with that. Like Donovan, Joe doesn’t understand the Stinking Panthers hate. They had a nice draft and are defending NFC South champions.
Make no mistake: Donovan said the Bucs are the best team in the NFC South. But Donovan does think ranking the Dixie Chicks over the Bucs is laughable.
Minnesota at No. 17, as Donovan suggested, is a bit of a stretch. Kyler Murray was let go for a reason. Now, Arizona isn’t exactly known for developing quarterbacks; for most of the past 80 years that franchise has been a joke.
But if the Cardinals thought Murray could get them to the playoffs, he wouldn’t be in Minnesota right now battling five-star bust J.J. McCarthy.
In all, Donovan thought the Bucs got dissed by Vacchiano.
@patdonovanradio Are the Bucs better than the 22nd team in the NFL? That’s where Ralph Vacchiano has them ranked in his power rankings, and Pat and Aaron think that’s too low! #Bucs #WeAreTheKrewe ♬ original sound – PatDonovanRadio
May 24th, 2026 at 12:21 am
L.T. was a game wrecker in Tecmo Bowl.
May 24th, 2026 at 12:30 am
Ralph needs some serious help from someone to get his head out of his butt.
May 24th, 2026 at 2:01 am
The Bucs team that was playing at the end of the year last year is not even close to the same team coming on the field this year. They should absolutely demolish expectations because the media isn’t paying attention to all the injuries they had last year that are returning PLUS free agency PLUS the draft. There’s a ton more talent that will be on the field week 1.
May 24th, 2026 at 4:22 am
Bruce Arians caught a stay.
2013\(10-6\)MissedRunner-up in NFC West; named PFWA Coach of the
2014\(11-5\)\(0-1\)Wild Card berth; named AP Coach of the
2015\(13-3\)\(1-1\)NFC West Champs; reached NFC Championship Game
May 24th, 2026 at 6:55 am
L.T was a game wrecker in real life.
May 24th, 2026 at 7:00 am
The Bucs have talent but do they have enough. As always injuries are going to play a HUGE role in the outcome. If you simply look at the “one deep” rosters around the league the Bucs stack up pretty nicely but everybody has to have career years and stay healthy.
It also depends on players returning to their best form, I’m thinking of AW! IF EE flashes again, if the OL gets healthy and solidifies, and of course perhaps the major question of all…is Bain the real deal? Will Calijah finally remain healthy and will YaYa continue his growth.
A typical season full of IFs…at least there is some potential. The offense should be good and the D COULD finally improve.
May 24th, 2026 at 7:06 am
Bucs have a SB winning DC. Dualing Todd hasn’t been working. Until it works there’s no reason to think it will. I understand that is a very demanding task, but I don’t understand why help doesn’t show up. Only thing I can think of is adding a DC would be a threat, a toe step on the guru’s toes who is actually supposed to be the HC training the DC. Just feels Todd, Bruce, and Jason is locked in a triangle. Yes that triangle won a SB but something is missing now.
May 24th, 2026 at 7:15 am
Kyler Murray is a joke, Arizona had to put (allegedly) a clause in his last contract to actually make him put down his video game controller and watch film.
May 24th, 2026 at 7:21 am
Who cares what yet another pundit says? NOBODY.
Let’s just play the games and see what happens
May 24th, 2026 at 8:11 am
Until Bowles runs a defense that isn’t SLOP, the Bucs will be (and should be) dissed. Did Bowles learn anything from the last 2 years?
May 24th, 2026 at 8:58 am
People feel this way about the Bucs because this is who the Bucs are under this coach. What has Bowles shown that should make anyone believe otherwise?
Every single season under him they come out and play well for a month, then fall apart for two months, then maybe claw themselves out of the hole they’ve created for themselves, and in last years case, they dont crawl out of that hole. Thats the reality of this team.
The roster has no bearing on the trajectory that they take every single season. Healthy, unhealthy, it doesnt matter. This OC, that OC, it doesnt matter. Common denominator at the top promising change of philosophy amd direction, only to deliver the exact same product while trying to prove his doubters wrong.
Rinse/Repeat.
May 24th, 2026 at 9:19 am
Bucs are counting on Rookies, AGAIN, to generate a pass rush.
Hasn’t worked yet, so I guess we’ll do it again
Offense lost one one of the 4 exceptional players on this team,
Replacing him with a damaged Chris Godwin, and a bunch of “pretty Goods”.
So defense lost Lavonte. Offense lost Evans.
And some are somehow predicting improvement. Riiiiiight.
And again, counting on rookies.
It’s going to be a disappoint year.
May 24th, 2026 at 9:21 am
Who cares, still have to play the games
May 24th, 2026 at 10:11 am
Monte Kiffin was 100x the DC that Bowles is.
Bowles needs to be more humble and change his practice habits.
Our team looked slow and soft last year.
They didn’t swarm and didn’t hit.
Every Monte Kiffin defense in Tampa Bay played fast. They loved hitting people.
And they swarmed.
Why?
Ask John Lynch.
They practiced fast! They repeated the same physical motions thousands and thousands of times!
Stop the “walk throughs” stop the “talking”
Stop the “intellectual” practices.
And get back to the Old Bucs!
The Monte Kiffin Bucs!
May 24th, 2026 at 10:25 am
It’s a matter of trust. Do we trust Coach Bowles won’t lose the team again? Do we trust rookies will save this season? Do we trust Baker won’t get injured? If he does, will he sit it out and let a backup QB stand him a couple games till he heals?
Who made the decision to hire Teddy and then not use him? Teddy could have lost three games till Baker came back. Maybe refreshed, Baker could have won the last four of seven games. I suspect the players have some serious trust issues Bowles and Bucs management. That lack of trust leads to players thinking about taking care of themselves.
May 24th, 2026 at 10:34 am
I hate the Panthers and who cares if they get hated on or not. I domt give a crap to try to understand why peoole hate on them. Maybe because they suck and suck and suck. Nfc south champions with the same record we had amd we sucked badly last season. Just looks at the collapse WE had and we were tied in the W L recird soooo and haye or questions towards Carolina is well deserved and who cares about them anyway
May 24th, 2026 at 12:53 pm
The Vikings almost made the playoffs last year with a rotation of stiffs playing QB. That’s how good the coaching of Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores are.
May 24th, 2026 at 1:20 pm
Bowles and Baker are making the most important decisions on and off the field and for some reason people believe they’ll do something they’ve never done before. The literal definition of insanity going with the same losing plan for the 4th year in a row and expecting different results.
I’ve asked this 4 years straight: what is it about Bowles and Baker’s decision-making that will lead to a championship? Haven’t heard a sober answer yet. The bar is below hell with these two. The most exciting player on the team is gone and the best player left is Wirfs. No pro-bowlers or all-pros. No elite coaches. Who in this organization has a history of sustained success at their position?
Its time to clean house, we all know how this movie ends. Top 5 draft pick.
May 24th, 2026 at 1:23 pm
Pat is dumb and lazy AF. Carter is a chump and is dumbern a ROCK. The. Giants FO has been HORRIBLE for years now, and they used to be so well respected. And, they JUST EXTENDED Schoen, too. Dart only had Nabers for barely a full half of one game last season, was all. And, Skattebooboo for what… Barely, HALF a season (idk for how many games with Dart actually ‘starting’)!? His foot/ankle/leg was absolutely DESTROYED. Dart’s style of play is EXTREMELY reckless. I think Nabers just had to have ANOTHER surgery on that same knee. Is ole Hairball really, even a GOOD head coach!? I’m not so sure about ANY of it!? They do have a much more manageable schedule this season versus last season’s, though. This is a VERY weird list of characters together. It will be interesting to see how this ever works.
May 24th, 2026 at 1:32 pm
Bowles and Baker are making the most important decisions on and off the field and for some reason people believe they’ll do something they’ve never done before. The literal definition of insanity going with the same losing plan for the 4th year in a row and expecting different results.
I’ve asked this 4 years straight: what is it about Bowles and Baker’s decision-making that will lead to a championship? Haven’t heard a sober answer yet. The bar is below hell with these two. The most exciting player on the team is gone and the best player left is Wirfs. No pro-bowlers or all-pros. No elite coaches. Who in this organization has a history of sustained success at their position?
Its time to clean house, we all know how this movie ends. Top 5 draft pick.
May 24th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
We shall see.
I think this guy had Seattle pretty low before last season. Same with Jax and Indy.
Teams are all so close in talent, it comes down to best QB, trenches and health. If the Bucs can just stay relatively healthy, they can compete with anyone.
May 24th, 2026 at 1:39 pm
Bowles and Baker are making the most important decisions on and off the field and for some reason people believe they’ll do something they’ve never done before. The literal definition of insanity going with the same losing plan for the 4th year in a row and expecting different results.
Its time to clean house, we all know how this movie ends. Top 5 draft pick.
May 24th, 2026 at 3:24 pm
It’s all been about injuries every single season. When we won the Super Bowl, we barely had any. Lately we’ve been absolutely *decimated* by them. Keep our starters in and healthy and we will win a ton of games. Have entire position groups in the training room, and the whole team goes down the tubes. It’s time for some more good luck. We’ve been plagued with bad luck several seasons in a row now.
May 24th, 2026 at 3:50 pm
I already have my hotel and tickets for Cincy. Let’s go Bucs!
May 24th, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Bucs have good players at many positions – will they win the division ? other teams have Bijan Robinson, Tetairoa McMillan, Chris Olave etc – the Bucs have very good receivers, good running backs, ok tight ends and a good o-line – the defense has been revamped so we can’t say what will happen but it was only in 2022 when the defense got shredded in the playoffs – Baker is better than Penix, Shough Young Tagovailoa currently but will he get injured ? we don’t know – and we don’t know how these other QBs develop – to call the Bucs a middling team is reasonable
May 24th, 2026 at 4:33 pm
eh, i was going to stay away from this…but whatever.
Todd knows he’s not well liked around here by some because of his bs schemes. It doesnt mean i hate the guy, he’s a great person, and i will always root for him and my team. But he’s dual hatting when i think he shouldnt HC/DC….WHY? Its just too much IMO. Focus on HC, you made it….NOW HIRE A DC 🙂
May 24th, 2026 at 6:27 pm
Bree How about Bowles and baker making the decision that no one gets injured!
May 24th, 2026 at 7:13 pm
Stafford Herbert Prescott
Goff Love Williams
Jackson Burrow Rodgers
5 playoff teams in 2025
Baker is better than :
Watson / Sanders
McCarthy / Murray
Shough / Rattler
Penix / Tua
Young / Pickett
the ceiling for the Bucs is 8-9
May 24th, 2026 at 8:54 pm
Mike Evans left because of Toad Bowels. It’s plain as day.
He KNOWS his chances of winning a second SB are far greater in San Francisco than in Tampa.
We are stuck in reverse under the current regime.
Don’t blame ME13 for taking a pay cut and a tax hike to escape that giant sucking sound that is the wide open Swiss cheese defense.
May 25th, 2026 at 2:05 am
We see you Bee.
Horses to water and all. Keep the faith. The plan is a franchise QB (though I don’t have as much of a problem with Baker as some, “but it’s not the point “) and you can’t get one Except in the draft. Keeping a proven hard head and the definition of insanity, is likely the wisest move and most likely the Best Shot of achieving that franchise QB….
But have No Doubt, the Majority Has your back. NONE of us “want to” lose and that’s the rub. No matter your side on the definition of Insanity, NONE OF US “WANTS TO” have ANOTHER losing season. And that’s why the brawling.
But we here you LOUD AND CLEAR.. Keep the faith. Think of it like a shot in the arm. IT HURTS! But it’s for the best and soon the pain will dissappear and it’ll heal you.
May 25th, 2026 at 6:53 am
Mike Evans left to be the #1 receiver. He left because we drafted Egbuka. Nothing more. We just beat San Fran last year and they play the Rams and Seahawks twice. The Bucs have a significantly better chance of making the playoffs! Mike wants targets and he will get nearly twice as many in San Fran than he would get here. Too much competition that actually gets open. He wants to be in the HOf but he’s already a first ballot selection so he overreacted. Now if the Bucs can win the Super Bowl we will make him look really dumb.
May 25th, 2026 at 7:02 am
Bobblehead on your list only Stafford Jackson and Burrow have a strong case to be better than Baker. Goff and Baker have extremely similar stats. The others are definitely not better.
May 26th, 2026 at 7:45 am
You never win anything by being the worst of the best. If your goal is to squeak by in the worst division in the NFL so the coach can spend more time at the buffet, you will never accomplish anything. I HOPE (LOL) Bowles can prove me wrong…but he hasn’t yet. Ps. Division Championships are worthless.