Looking For Something More
August 25th, 2026
Playoff wins would be nice.
Joe fully understands how, for a fan base, the thoughts of a division title not only grow stale but aggravating.
In 2026, winning the NFC South landfill is nothing more than saying you’re the best of a bunch of bad teams. As a famous TV curmudgeon famously said a long time ago, “Whoop-tee-do.”
For owners, suits, coaches and maybe even some players, Joe knows a division title means something more. Especially for owners because that guarantees a home game and all the revenue that comes with it.
And for their employees, a happy boss is a happy work life.
A division title for fans is nothing more than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. A division title, after a while, starts to morph into failure.
For Raymond Summerlin of Sharp Football Analysis, he wonders if the Bucs really are anything more than the best of a few bad teams.
The Bucs will hope for better from a healthy Baker Mayfield, and they are likely the best team in the NFC South. The question is: Can they be more than that?
As many times as the Bucs have been in the playoffs, the Bucs have won just one playoff game since KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles took over. Even if the Bucs win the division this season but get bounced right away, again, Joe wonders if Team Glazer will start running out of patience?
Remember, the Bucs once had a beloved coach who guided the team out of the dark ages to become an annual playoff team. But even then, with a popular coach, Team Glazer eventually ran out of patience after too many one-and-dones.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:01 am
In our head coach!
August 25th, 2026 at 9:04 am
The line on the opener has ballooned to Bengals -4.5.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Wining the division is not what’s aggravating. What’s aggravating is the fashion in which they won it in previous seasons. The reason is, the teams in the division suck and if we can barely beat them most fans realize it’ll be a one and done in the playoffs.
With the roster the Bucs have had over the past several seasons they should have had the division locked up with 2-3 games left. Hopefully things will be different this season.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:07 am
Sooo… winning a division title isn’t stale.
Winning a division title in the NFC Dumpster Fire Division while only barely going .500 and then getting run in the first round of the playoffs? That’s a different story.
Incredibly Average Todd Bowles is… incredibly average. It’s like the guy is allergic to a winning record. It’s also like he’s allergic to a losing record. Every year there’s a hot start, then a collapse back to .500 or worse. Now THAT… that’s stale. Incredibly, incredibly stale.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:10 am
Normally I would agree with you on this Joe. But not with Bowles.
The Glazers have embraced the culture of losing and they seem to enjoy it.
After 2024 they should have moved on to Coen. He was in the building.
Instead they doubled down and extended his contract to try and save face.
Now they have egg on their collective faces after the disastrous 2025 campaign.
Todd has proven the ability to survive no matter how low this team goes.
I’m just biding my time. But have zero faith in the front office anymore.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:17 am
Winning the division on the last game while crossing your fingers a division rival beats another one so you squeak by is not a good thing. Bowles isn’t the guy to get to the Super Bowl as he struggles as HC and DC.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:22 am
Todd Blows reached his ceiling, 10 wins, he’s NEVER going to win more than that in a season.
Clock management, relying on a poor pass defense for key stops, not being aggressive and failing to let players play to their strengths
He should be retired right now and Coen should be the coach
August 25th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Big year for Baker and Bowles. No matter which side of the fence you’re on (or maybe your on the fence), the truth will come out after this season.
I give Baker a pass for last year considering the oline was a complete mess and didn’t start a single game together. There were also injuries to Godwin, Evans and JMac. Not excuses, just facts.
But this is a prove year for both the HC and QB.
If they can stay relatively healthy, I think this team wins 10 games.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:32 am
If we win the division but have 150 Million in salary and draft picks in the training room we will be one and done. If we happen to be hot and barely injured, we can do much better than that.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:37 am
Ain’t stale for me, if that’s our floor I’m with it because that means we’re guaranteed a postseason berth and as a Buc fan I’ll NEVER get tired of postseason berths. Kiddin me? I’m old enough to remember every year between 2007-2020 we didn’t make the playoffs.
The fact it’s been 1 season since 2020 that we haven’t made the postseason, but after our first SB we went to the playoffs a grand total of 2 times in 16 years was terrible. These new Buc fans don’t know pain, just like Jed York didn’t know he could’ve brought his own escort service instead of getting caught trying to get his knob polished in a trailer park in middle America.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:39 am
I will give Bowles a pass for one reason. You can only coach up players so far. Yes last year well the last 2 years the defense has been horrible. However, the personnel on the defense has not been good. Does Bowles have a hand in that absolutely. However, Licht also has a big hand in that. Simply put the defense needs much better players, which absent the secondary they now have. I think Bowles needs to be judged on this year.
The Bucs had no reason to fire Bowles and hire Coen as the Bucs had a great year that year. They did offer him an offer of being one of the top paid offensive cordinators in the league, which Coen initially accepted then declined to become a head coach.
August 25th, 2026 at 9:55 am
I have been as critical as anyone with Bowles and coaching staff. As a Bucs lifer, I certainly remember FAR worse times. Having said that, I have no faith in this regime to do much of anything outside of what we have already seen. Same old movie to unfold in 2026. This is a 7, 8, (maybe) 9 win team. Talented on offense. Lots of new pieces on defense. I will believe the pass rush when I see it. And our cornerbacks are bottom 1/4 of the NFL at best. Dont even get me started on the Bowles scheme. Cincy is licking their chops.
August 25th, 2026 at 10:03 am
lets sweep the division!!!!!
this team is talent enough to do that and win 11games…lets get there
GO BUCS!!!!!
August 25th, 2026 at 10:06 am
How many times have the Browns said “It’s the coach?,” The Bills? The Chargers? “The Bengals? The Vikings? Arizona? Carolina? Detroit? It takes having a lot of good players and a lot of luck to get to the Super Bowl to win it.
August 25th, 2026 at 10:14 am
Just a dumb question. Everyone keeps saying the NFC South is the worst division in the NFL. How is that measured? The NFC South 4 teams had a combined 30 wins last year. The NFC East had 27 combined wins.
In 2024 the NFC South had a combined 28 wins. The AFC South had just 25 wins combined.
In 2023 the NFC South had the fewest combined wins.
In 2022 the NFC South had a combined 29 wins. The AFC South had just 23 wins combined.
So what is the metric here?
August 25th, 2026 at 10:23 am
There is no metric @Critmark, just sounds good to some people invested in the power of complaining
August 25th, 2026 at 10:28 am
If healthy, they should win it easy. The Bucs went toe to toe with the Texans and Seahawks last year, and won. Very physical, tough games that felt like playoffs. They need edges and corners to come through, and stay healthy.
August 25th, 2026 at 10:46 am
We play 17 games, only SIX are division games, get a grip
August 25th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Last season Ronde Barber said it best “we’re an average team when healthy below average with injuries” I do believe this season we could be above average when healthy. Still an issue with depth, but that only comes with additional draft picks. Don’t be surprised if we beat the Bengals! Another mid-season slump though and I’m all for getting rid of the entire staff.
August 25th, 2026 at 10:50 am
Has to win the division by a lot. No barely making it. No one and done. Alright Todd?
August 25th, 2026 at 11:06 am
That pile of losses toward the end last year was totally unacceptable…..if Baker was hurt, he should not have played.
Bowles ends up firing most everyone but himself……
We have too good of a roster to lose….
I am expecting a better defense and ST this year…..
August 25th, 2026 at 11:57 am
WBL great statement and couldn’t agree more. The lost decade was very dark times but gotta remember most of these fans jumped on the bandwagon when Brady came and have no clue about those dark times. I started watching the Bucs when dilfer was taking snaps so to grow up mostly watching that legendary defense crush offenses was a thing of beauty but deff made the lost decade feel really bad. So grateful for how Jason slowly navigated us out of it. He made a bunch of mistakes but deff learned and has grown into one of the better GMs in football. Doesn’t matter what the haters cry about
August 25th, 2026 at 12:06 pm
NFC Champions is this year.
August 25th, 2026 at 12:07 pm
I do think Bowles retires after this year… regardless.
August 25th, 2026 at 12:08 pm
Everything will about health…
August 25th, 2026 at 12:17 pm
I will never grow tired of division championships! It stings saying that Carolina is the current champs, if that doesn’t pi$$ you off then you are dead inside.
August 25th, 2026 at 12:39 pm
Who cares if they win the division with 8 wins a W is a W ! Wildcard,WTF ever its about being in the hunt in December regardless!
August 25th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
Lets remember how those last two playoff games have gone…
In Detroit, 2 mins left, all three timeouts, a one score game… Baker has the ball in the biggest moment of his career, and immediately throws an INT, ending the game.
Vs the Redskins, at home, the defense makes a huge 4th quarter goal line stand, give the ball back to the offense with a chance to go up two scores and put the game away… and Baker immediately fumbles the ball, losing the game.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s not all on Bowles.
August 25th, 2026 at 12:45 pm
The “Looking For Something More” headline, could be about a post that reflects the thoughts of Buccaneer fans when it comes to Todd Bowles as head coach…………..
August 25th, 2026 at 12:54 pm
Fire The Cannons & Fire Todd Says:
August 25th, 2026 at 9:22 am
Todd Blows reached his ceiling, 10 wins, he’s NEVER going to win more than that in a season.
Clock management, relying on a poor pass defense for key stops, not being aggressive and failing to let players play to their strengths
He should be retired right now and Coen should be the coach
^^^^^^^^^^
If we were able to like/dislike comments on here, this would get a thumbs up.
August 25th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
I’m really hoping we can play special teams.
We have had one of the worst special teams in the NFL for 4 years straight.
The Patriots always had one of the best special teams in the NFL under Belicheck.
His girlfriend is so hot by the way.
I want to follow in his footsteps and have a super hottie when I’m in my 60’s.
August 25th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Well, if Raymond Summerlin says so then it must be true…. Smdh 🙄
August 25th, 2026 at 1:33 pm
If you don’t like winning a division title, the sole alternative is losing one. Winning the conference is not an alternative, nor is winning a Super Bowl. Yes, people can become bored with success –think of a local CB– but it leads to its only alternative, failure. It’s cruel living in a binary universe, but the only alternative is……….
August 25th, 2026 at 1:42 pm
You’re only as good as the talent on your roster. In spite of all the credit or blame some head coaches get, the vast majority of them can’t make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t.
I’m not a fan of Bowles, I think he’s the epitome of average as coaches go. But I don’t see 90% of the other coaches around the league getting much more out of this group.
The Bucs have a good but not great starting QB in Mayfield with a strong OL and WR group. TE’s and RB’s are acceptable but I wouldn’t call them strong or above average. On defense there’s 2-3 veterans most would call good (Vea, Winfield and Tykee), 2 rookies with promise and a bunch of ‘okay’ to ‘ugh’ around them.
A lot of people in the comments section here seriously overestimate how good this team should be. Based on what Bowles and what he has to work with they’re exactly where they look like – somewhere between mediocre and serviceable.
Disagree? Look at every draft since 2021 and find the consistency in bringing in talent that sustains the roster core. Licht has managed to do it on offense (OL and WR are his pillars) and failed by any objective measurement on defense. I’m not talking about warm bodies who make the roster, but contributors who make a difference in wins and losses. His FA signings should be useful in 2026, but are mostly older and on their downside.
Playoff potential is absolutely there – the NFC South is our friend, but this isn’t a SB or NFC championship game contender. Outside of hope for the rookies to make a big impact, most of the players here now are in the their prime and the results are as good as they’re going to get – Bowles or not.
August 25th, 2026 at 2:35 pm
In order to get playoff wins, you must reach the playoffs and then win games.
Ancient Chinese proverb
Pass it along to Bowles.
August 25th, 2026 at 2:45 pm
As many have mentioned, if we were winning the NFC west, AFC west, AFC east or even the NFC north, no one would be dogging on Todd and his less than average record. We’d be trying to determine how a 13-win team can get better and that would include the HC.
Instead, we are upset because, as other have mentioned, we’ve hit the ceiling with this guy.
We’re just tired of pretending.
August 25th, 2026 at 4:00 pm
I love this team but with this coach, we are just hoping to be the tallest midget in the circus.
August 25th, 2026 at 5:39 pm
@Teacherman:
“I want to follow in his footsteps and have a super hottie when I’m in my 60’s”
– – – – – – – – – –
Belicheck is not in his 60’s, he is 74. The gf is 25. And yes, she is a hottie.
Harry is 70, fiancee is 40 and is a hottie 🙂
August 25th, 2026 at 7:10 pm
Nobody said anything when the patriots was dominating the afc east in the early 2000’s. Nobody said anything win New Orleans was beating up on the south so let’s keep this chatter to a minimum when it comes to the Bucs winning the division. Division champs is division champs no matter how you spin it 🏴☠️
August 25th, 2026 at 10:18 pm
Most teams that reach the top of the mountain, meaning either getting to the big game or winning the big game, then go through a period of decline. It takes time to rebuild or re-tool before returning to the top. There are lots of examples. The best of them have an extensive period of sustained success such as the Patriots in the Belichick/ Brady era. After Brady left, they went through a 4 or 5 year period of wandering in the desert and last season marked their return to the big show. I’m willing to bet that the Chiefs have arrived at their period of decline. It’ll be several years before they return to glory. Andy Reid will soon retire and although Mahomes will always keep them competitive, they won’t be the same as they once were. The Saints were perennially serious contenders in the Payton/ Brees era, but it’s been 5 or 6 years since they’ve been relevant and they haven’t won anything even playing in the so called crappy NFCS. The great Bucs teams of 2020 and 2021 are no more. 2022 was the year it fell apart. Bucs fans are fortunate that they have at least been somewhat competitive and went to the playoffs a couple of times. Maybe this year or next could mark their return to glory. We should have a little more patience. Look how long it took the Panthers to finally get back to the playoffs and Falcons fans are going on a decade of futility. Most recently the Seahawks of the Carroll/ Wilson/ Legion of Doom era went through some lean years also before getting back to the Super Bowl. So it takes some time.