Loaf Watch: Buccaneers-Saints
July 12th, 2026
Joe did a triple-take last month when Todd Bowles broke from his in-season and postseason claims that effort was no issue with his Buccaneers last season.
Bowles referenced guys “just taking plays off.” That sounds like an effort issue, so Joe launched operation Loaf Watch.
Joe has been disssecting Tampa Bay’s post-bye-week games, the ones that sent the Bucs from a 6-2 record to a sad 8-9 conclusion.
Who was “just taking plays off?” This is Joe’s search.
The first installment of the Loaf Watch series (Bucs-Patriots) was followed by Part II (Bucs-Bills) and Part III (Bucs-Rams) and Part IV (Bucs-Cardinals). Today, it’s Bucs-Saints from their Dec. 7 game Tampa..
This exercise is about clarity following the Bowles comment, and after Lavonte David admitted to being called out for loafs and YaYa Diaby wagged a finger of shame at Bucs film.
This Bucs-Saints game was poised to be a special day for Tampa Bay. The Bucs were 7-5 and facing their arch rival at home.
However, the Bucs came out flat on the opening kickoff. Jacob Parrish was running at half the speed of Deion Jones chasing the Saints kick returner — Jones passed him easily — who brought the ball back to the Bucs’ 45 yard line.
Not a good start.
The Saints’ opening drive? Joe saw Diaby jogging after quarterback Tyler Shough as Shough ran within the Bucs’ 10 yard line on a scramble. More hustle at least would have offered a chance for Diaby delivering a body shot to Shough. Regardless, it’s the opening series in the red zone. Where was the urgency?
Joe saw special teams ace Josh Hayes lose interest during punt coverage once he realized a flag he saw thrown might have been on him. Lock in! Play to the whistle! It turned out to be a holding on Hayes, but that’s no excuse for losing focus during an actual play.
(Bucs followed that up with a Luke Goedeke false start on the offense’s first snap of the ensuing drive.)
Joggin’ Jamel Dean was back for more questionable effort, especially on the Saints’ final touchdown. “This Joe” is glad Dean is gone.
That’s about it on the loaf watch, but Joe had a few other observations from this sad 24-20 loss.
*Overall, Parrish had a rough day. He looked slow. Perhaps the rain affected him more than others.
*Was Baker Mayfield healthy? Consider that Mayfield launched a 57-yards-in-the-air Hail Mary pass to end the first half. He also scrambled 6 times for 42 yards. Mayfield certainly appeared healthy.
*Late in the first half, the Bucs turned the ball over on downs after four consecutive runs by three different running backs, including Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker for no gain on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, respectively.
*Bravo to two punishing blocks in a row by Cade Otton on the third-quarter drive that gave the Bucs a 17-14 lead. First, Otton lined up as a fullback and sprung Sean Tucker for 13 yards to the Saints 1 yard line. Then he delivered on the next snap as Tucker punched it in for a touchdown.
*On a big 3rd-and-10 at the Saints-47 in the fourth quarter, New Orleans quick-snapped the Bucs, which caught YaYa Diaby, Vita Vea and Anthony Nelson off guard. First-down completion Saints. Good piece of coaching by New Orleans.
*Lavonte David sure looked like an aging-out player at times. His missed tackle on third down of rookie running back Devin Neal at the line of scrimmage was a critical play on the Saints’ game-winning drive.
July 12th, 2026 at 9:57 pm
The final record was 8-9, not 7-9. Why are you getting this wrong so often?
Is Todd writing articles for you now???
July 12th, 2026 at 10:09 pm
You don’t get so excellent at loafing without being properly taught how to do it.
One man. Three units. All sucked. That’s a very special achievement.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:18 pm
All I know is it wasn’t Bowles fault. Nothing ever is despite the results.
Must have been everyone else on the coaching staff.
But we’re now saved because we have two Todd Bowles.
We should have 10 rings at this rate very soon.
Best HC\DC, GM, and QB in NFL history. Just ask Floormatt.
🤣🤡🤣🤡🤣🤡🤣🤡
July 12th, 2026 at 10:41 pm
Heavy rain and wind. In the NFL that’s about 1.5-1 pointers for and against. The 24-20 game would be more like a 36-30 Saints win in normal conditions. That’s what I call a solid defense at home in a big game.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:43 pm
The Saints play indoors. That loss against a scrub QB was brutal as were the last 9 games and several before that.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:44 pm
Special teams and playcalling was about on par with the defense.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:45 pm
3.28Evans. Saints don’t play indoors when they’re playing in a rainstorm in Tampa.
July 12th, 2026 at 10:47 pm
Bucs fan since mid ’80’s. Season ticket holder 1996-2018.
First Super bowl run it was hard to follow a player each snap as Ray Jay rocked!
Lost decade it was easy to focus and watch a single player because the overall game was a lost cause.
Thx Joe(s) Ira for reporting on the Bucs as if I were still in stadium.
July 12th, 2026 at 11:31 pm
Only an idiot thinks a 24-20 loss at home in the stretch run vs a rookie QB was a solid performance.
Stuck on stupid.
July 13th, 2026 at 12:07 am
LynchMob50. I was being facetious. Of course giving up 24 in the stretch sucks- especially at home in a rain game.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:18 am
Put me on the Glad Dean’s Gone list. He’s softer than cotton candy.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:21 am
Joe … ‘Late in the first half, the Bucs turned the ball over on downs after four consecutive runs by three different running backs, including Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker for no gain on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1, respectively.’
Joe … ‘On a big 3rd-and-10 at the Saints-47 in the fourth quarter, New Orleans quick-snapped the Bucs, which caught YaYa Diaby, Vita Vea and Anthony Nelson off guard. First-down completion Saints. Good piece of coaching by New Orleans.’
Joe … ‘Lavonte David sure looked like an aging-out player at times. His missed tackle on third down of rookie running back Devin Neal at the line of scrimmage was a critical play on the Saints’ game-winning drive.’
Bucs had FIVE drives that game that ended ‘Out on Downs’. Professional players getting caught off-guard by quick snaps. Potential HOF player missing a tackle on 3rd-and-8 that was critical to the final score … and the loss.
Perfect examples right there Joe that had nothing to do with loafing per se, but everything to do with the loss. Not just the defense, but also the offense AND Special Teams. No question in my mind that coaching is responsible for a big share of that, but an even bigger share falls on the PLAYERS. No excuse for that level of low professionalism.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:59 am
These are the reasons that 90%+ of the fan base is absolutely disgusted with the retention of Todd Bowles. As a HC he’s woefully incompetent. I believe without question that if he was coaching any of the other 31 teams during the great collapse of 2025 he’d of been fired by the Monday after the last game. The Glazers are morons and cowards all at the same time.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:04 am
Dean will probably look good with the 49’ers. Why? He’ll be held accountable instead of just being given a bandaid and told to sit down.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:21 am
I think McCollum has the chance to be good. But you know going over the film of the Saints game, when the rookie QB dove into the corner of the end zone at the same time Zyon was getting there? McCollum had the opportunity to knock that rookie into the cheap seats- and instead curled up into what eerily looked like a fetal position. I’d of been embarrassed looking at my teammates in the film room after that halfa$$ effort. I hope Bain fires this defense up. Only takes one match to start a fire.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:32 am
i watched the game in disgust also, props to the saints for being ready, no props to the bucs for a failure in all three phases. the run game was horrible for three quarters, we missed putting points on the board bc of the stubborn stick to the run game when new orleans was keying on bucky, every game is decided by a handful of plays. this one was there for the taking. really felt outcoached in this one. finally here’s the sad truth: tyler out played Baker. Tyler win that game, he’s big he’s fast and he scored the deciding touchdowns. they should have put a spy on him after the first td but once again we got out coached. sad game imagine paying 500$ to watch that garbage in the rain, bad day to be a bucs fan and no props to baker for throwing late pics and not winning the game!!!
July 13th, 2026 at 7:37 am
Mj. Quit lying. Late pics? One pick isn’t “picks”. A late pick isn’t early third quarter. So nobody was satisfied with our offense, that’s true. You don’t need to lie about it, though.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:46 am
mj. Mayfield was 14-30, 122 yards, 1 TD pass and one interception. Stats like those, you won’t have an NFL job for long. So no need for you stretching the truth.
But when you say their rookie QB outplayed Mayfield? You’re a fan. Not a player. And that’s all good. But a football person will tell you that our defense was the key factor in letting the rookie look like he should even be on the same field with Mayfield.
July 13th, 2026 at 7:50 am
“Dean will probably look good with the 49’ers. Why? He’ll be held accountable instead of just being given a bandaid and told to sit down.“
But how will he look on the Steelers?
July 13th, 2026 at 8:00 am
mj. I’m a fan, too. And to spend $500 on a ticket just to get soaking wet and watch a bad football game? I’m betting that was a real kick in the teeth. Kind of how the whole season panned out.
July 13th, 2026 at 8:07 am
When an entire team simply quits playing that really and truly makes a statement. Why is Bowles still here? Rooney rule?
July 13th, 2026 at 9:46 am
Loafing mentally
No accountability
Players don’t see the game as their job.
Players have no respect towards owners, head coach and fans.
We need a coach like BA which reminds players they are getting paid for their complete effort.
It baffles me to see some fans not understanding that although is a game is also their place of employment. SMH
July 13th, 2026 at 9:55 am
Joe to be honest, love the site, However, to me this loaf watch is a waste. The Bucs D was awful. Yes a lot of players loafed. Well, if you add up the loafs Joe has cited, that’s not a lot of plays/players. So perhaps this exercise is not a “waste.”–Joe
They had little talent in the personnel they had. I think thay just gave up. I agreee from a coaching standpoint, that is simply unacceptable. Last year is thankfully gone. We ned to see what changes now. Joe, love youe site but really, let this go, what is the point?.This is a dead horse let it be. Few dead horses in the NFL. A great team plays 23 games a year, yet there are 300+ more on the calendar. If you enjoy talking football every day, looking backwards has to be part of it. –Joe
July 13th, 2026 at 11:14 am
Yeah seriously we got rid of the worst offenders. The problem wasn’t the coaches, it was the players. They needed to go and go they did.
July 13th, 2026 at 12:04 pm
And now everything is fine Floormatt. Right. Really. It was everyone else’s fault but Bowles. That is known. Mike knows. He blamed himself for 3rd and 28 and left in shame. It was Mike’s fault.
July 13th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
Im not hearing about loafing on offense even though we fired the oc
July 13th, 2026 at 1:08 pm
In a way, it almost sounds like the Bucs were over-confident in the early part of the “easy” stretch followed by complete loss pf confidence following the Atlanta loss. Still, as DR says, complete lack of professionalism…on both counts.
July 13th, 2026 at 6:53 pm
Totally on Bowles, he doesn’t hold any players or coaches accountable!!!!!!!!!!!! Game after game after game after game. When he finally does the damage has been done already done and/or has become contagious!!!!!!!!! This team would do better without him!!! IMHO.