Reason(s) To Hope
June 14th, 2026
Faith in Bucky Irving.
As we have reached minicamp week, it’s time to (try to) be positive about the Bucs.
Yeah, they choked like dogs in the second half of last season, plunging the team from Super Bowl contender to laughing stock, watching the playoffs on the couch just like you and Joe.
Alas, types Matt Verderame of SI.com, there is a lot to hope for with Tampa Bay. Two guys who the Bucs banked heavily on last year who didn’t come close to living up to expectations or hype are still with the team.
Hope: Even after losing Mike Evans in free agency, this is a talented offense. Baker Mayfield is one year removed from throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns. That same season, then-rookie back Bucky Irving totaled 1,122 rushing yards on 5.4 yards per carry. With second-year wideout Emeka Egbuka coming off a 938-yard campaign, the Buccaneers have ample skill-position talent.
Well, Mayfield was more than living up to his hype before the bye. He looked like enroute to an All-Pro season. And then? The floor caved in.
Bucky Irving never seemed comfortable in Josh Grizzard’s offense. And that was before he got hurt, even in worthless preseason games.
The run game early on looked to Joe just like the run game did under knothead Byron Leftwich. It was like former Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard didn’t know how to craft it effectively.
The devastating injuries to the offensive line sure didn’t help.
Joe has faith Bucky will bounce back. New Bucs offensive coordinator Zac Robinson clearly knows how to build a running attack.
So yeah, there is hope there. No question.
June 14th, 2026 at 12:16 am
5-12
The Bucs are going to be bad this year and that is reason for hope.
5-12 means high draft picks, $145M in cap, and a new coaching staff.
Embrace the suck!
June 14th, 2026 at 12:23 am
Hope is a dangerous word for longtime Bucs fans.
June 14th, 2026 at 1:00 am
Some great comedy.
June 14th, 2026 at 1:17 am
Joe, here’s a 2-for-1 SPECIAL:
SlyPirate:
Calling for 5-12 in June is the NFL version of rooting for your house to burn down because you want a new kitchen.
Pelsbuc61:
“Hope is dangerous.” So is pretending a team with Baker, Godwin, Bucky, and Wirfs is headed for 5-12.
Real Bucs fans see what’s happening at One Buc. A healthier offense, explosive youth on defense, and now Pistol Zac Robinson finally spreading the ball around. This offense should be must-watch TV.
And let’s be honest it’s going to be nice not holding our breath every time ME13 gets tackled and takes a little too long getting up. That’s San Francisco’s concern now.
The doom-and-gloom crowd predicts disaster every June. Then they disappear every September when the wins start stacking up.
LFG.
Ring Me.
June 14th, 2026 at 1:41 am
Hate to say it but we’re going to have to hit rb early next draft Jason…..
June 14th, 2026 at 1:44 am
Mestemaker, then rb Hardy
June 14th, 2026 at 2:14 am
if not rb, then DT Landino is looking good in the 2nd.
June 14th, 2026 at 2:40 am
‘Joe has faith Bucky will bounce back.’
Wish I could say the same Joe. But then again, I also think that’s why the Bucs went out and got Kenny Gainwell (who seems to be pretty much a clone of Bucky Irving, or vice versa). Bucky was fine while everything was going great for him, but as soon as things got dicey (his injuries, OLine issues, new OC, etc), he showed me nothing.
Letting Rachaad White go will have an even bigger impact than letting Mike Evans escape to San Fran. I’m still not convinced that Tucker is up to the task of being a Tier-1 RB.
June 14th, 2026 at 2:54 am
MadMax … My gut feel is that pairing Vea (6’4″ & 347 lbs) and Robinson (6’3″ & 320 lbs) will open a LOT of eyes in the NFL this year. Hoping that A’Shawn does extremely well this year & that we keep him for 2027 at least. He’s a beast.
June 14th, 2026 at 3:15 am
Yeah, I agree DR….but contract talks with Baker will stump things a little with V….its according to where V is at.
June 14th, 2026 at 4:05 am
I’ve changed almost EVERY word on my post, and it STILL won’t go through. 4TH ONE, in just the past 24-HOURS. I’ve never had this much trouble before. No clue what the “word” is this time, since everything is a normal word. I even took both Bijan AND Robinson out. Plus, several others, including deleting half my post. Makes NO SENSE. I can usually locate the potential issue, awfully quickly. Like, you can write “SOPH,” but by God you better NOT spell-it out like you can with FRESHMAN. It’s Ridiculous.
June 14th, 2026 at 4:08 am
Well, that one went through. Hmmmm…
June 14th, 2026 at 4:10 am
Just took me THREE ‘different’ combinations of that last one little sentence, in order to get THAT ONE through. Crazy. VERY Frustrating. Makes NO SENSE.
June 14th, 2026 at 4:12 am
I have little doubt that the D line WILL BE BETTER this year. In fact it’s about time!
I almost Doubt my favorite coach could even screw that up. Somehow though… I’m still left with some “concerns”. If “someone” will just let them DO what they are DESIGNED TO DO…. it could be glorious on that front line for a change.
June 14th, 2026 at 4:53 am
MelvinJunior … Just for info, I have that exact same problem maybe once every 10 comments or so (push Submit and the entrie comment simply disappears; but when I ‘Go Back’ 1 screen it reappears & I modify it; sometimes that works, sometimes it just happens again & again & again). Trying to figure out what phrase or word is causing the hiccup can be really frustrating, and sometimes I just give up.
June 14th, 2026 at 5:12 am
MadMax … Vea (Rnd 1 pick) will be 32 next February; Robinson (Rnd 2 pick) will be 32 next March; RNR (Rnd 6 pick) will be 33 this July. Kancey (Rnd 1 pick) will be with us next year (5th year extension) but I’m very wary of his injury history & don’t want to see us build a defense around him. Capehart (a 5th Rnd pick) is a youngster (24 this July) as is Elijah Roberts (currently 24 and also a 5th Rnd pick).
DLine beasts are usually high round draft picks for a reason. Guys like Vea & Robinson (and yes Suh) start & make decent money because they perform on the field. Lower round picks are most often the rotational guys it seems (and yes, some do make it as starters, but not nearly as often as the DLine beasts drafted in the top rounds IMO).
Bucs NEED to get younger up-front, and we need to do it by spending high draft picks VERY WISELY. The alternative to that is to grab 1 or 2 beasts after they’ve been in the league for say 4 or 5 years and performed very well. Yes we’ll pay for it, but it’ll save us a draft pick to use on a position (like QB or WR or CB) that are normally very expensive assuming they’re very good once they hit the 5 year point.
June 14th, 2026 at 6:00 am
When healthy the Bucs can compete with anybody so there is some hope for fans that need it. When rebuilding (which they are) it comes down to depth. Last year we had zero at key positions. The Bucs were able to fill some of the holes this off-season, but takes time.
June 14th, 2026 at 7:41 am
Bucky simply isn’t a 25 carry per game player, he seems far more effective at 15-ish, plus a few catches. The fact that Gainwell is similar means they can at least run the same schemes regardless who’s on the field.
That aside, I see zero reason we don’t finally reach the vaunted 11 win threshold
June 14th, 2026 at 7:52 am
@melvinjunior. The comment software is really quirky here. It does that to all of us. Like DR says, you can hit the back button 2 or three times and what you typed will come back. Editing it and resending is a roll of the dice. It sure would be nice to reply directly to comments too. Take it for what it is.
June 14th, 2026 at 7:56 am
No, Bucky isn’t a bell cow. Neither is Tucker. I don’t know as much about Gainwell. Use them correctly and they’ll be fine
June 14th, 2026 at 7:58 am
A lot of fans and media click bait artists were predicting the books would have 5 or less wins in the 2023 off season.
My prediction… is… no prediction. I have no clue. I see potential but I also said it all last off season… “Bucs will blah blah blah, IF they stay relatively injury free”. We know how that went.
McMillan and Walker couldn’t even make it to the reg season. Wirfs and Godwin… weren’t playing until later on. And my experience with these injuries, players don’t come back 100% even when they’re fully healed. It takes time to get back to that. Usually have to wait until the very following season to see them play/move normally again.
So, hope they stay healthy this year (looking at you Bucky and Benny) and we’ll see what happens. I like the new acquisitions and here’s that word again, I hope a lot of the new rookies show out for us.
June 14th, 2026 at 8:39 am
The Bucs will win 5 games max, and thats not being negative. Its looking at the talent level of the HC and players he chose that have been progressively getting worse the past 3 years. As I’ve been saying since Bowles was retained, the goal is to tank and get the needed high draft picks to improve talent CHEAPER than FA.
The most positive thing is there will be hope for the future with Bowles, Baker and Licht gone. This team needs a whole new direction and an actual plan for the future that can be articulated without vague media talk.
June 14th, 2026 at 8:59 am
All 32 teams in the NFL have hope right now sitting undefeated at 0-0. Hoping all the off-season moves will put them in position to win the Superbowl. One thing that will put a sour taste in this fan is to get there and lose. Bucs are undefeated in SBs. I want it to stay that way. I’m hopeful another team can knock the Rams out. Hoping our Bucs to be the ones to do it feels more like wishful thinking. Who knows anything can happen let’s play the game. Go Bucs!
June 14th, 2026 at 10:53 am
Bee Says:
June 14th, 2026 at 8:39 am
“The Bucs will win 5 games max, and thats not being negative. Its looking at the talent level of the HC and players he chose that have been progressively getting worse the past 3 years. As I’ve been saying since Bowles was retained, the goal is to tank and get the needed high draft picks to improve talent CHEAPER than FA.
The most positive thing is there will be hope for the future with Bowles, Baker and Licht gone. This team needs a whole new direction and an actual plan for the future that can be articulated without vague media talk”
I hope you will take your always very similar Baker is bad comments and leave with “Bowles, Baker and Licht” when the team has a “new direction”
June 14th, 2026 at 11:18 am
When it comes to predictions I’m guessing 9 or 10 wins.
June 14th, 2026 at 11:35 am
But JOE grizz was just the fall guy as you have typed 😂. Grizz couldn’t cut it with one of the most talented offenses in the league. He didn’t get thrown under the bus. He ran under it himself lol. Some will say the same about Bowles and he’s still the coach but Bowles has shown when he has a talented D it produces like 2020 and 21. Also Bowles D held one of the most talented offenses the nfl has seen in a long time get shut down to just 3 field goals in the biggest game of the year.
June 14th, 2026 at 12:30 pm
The run game disappeared with most of our O line. Baker was playing hurt and with the same musical chair O line.
Go Bucs!
June 14th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
The hybrid HC/DC is the wet blanket that smothers that hope.
June 14th, 2026 at 2:51 pm
Borimax, I loved your post–“Calling for 5-12 in June is the NFL version of rooting for your house to burn down because you want a new kitchen.” LOL
GO BUCS!
June 14th, 2026 at 5:21 pm
Sly, would like to see your bet on under 6, bet you won’t put money on it….
June 14th, 2026 at 6:26 pm
Crickett Baker … “Calling for 5-12 in June is the NFL version of rooting for your house to burn down because you want a new kitchen.”
That’s an absolute classic Crickett
June 15th, 2026 at 11:38 am
I have a wager for a Bucs Jersey of my choice from the Bucs Store that we will be 7-10 or better. This just sounds like a gift for me. But my guess is 10 or 11 wins and a South championship and were back in the Playoffs.
June 15th, 2026 at 4:43 pm
This year will be better.
June 16th, 2026 at 12:41 am
Some real genises here. No one wants 5-12, or 2-15. Nobody. That doesn’t change the reality that it’s very likely.
Considering “coaching,” overdeployment of the overrated genis, the team’s cumulative performance trajectory, and it’s simply being realistic to recognize the source of the stench and its impact. When that is corrected there can be room for hope. Not until.