The David Walker Mystery
September 21st, 2026
David Walker celebrates his sack of Browns QB Deshaun Watson yesterday.
Zero snaps for edge rusher David Walker in Week 1.
Nine snaps for Walker in Week 2.
This is the same guy Bucs suits and coaches have been gushing about repeatedly.
Joe watched Walker enter the game yesterday and register an old fashioned sack. He won off the edge and took down Browns QB Deshaun Watson. The sack was early in the game against the same starting tackle Tytus Howard that was giving Bucs starting edge rusher Rueben Bain a rough day.
So why wasn’t Walker seen more? Joe doesn’t get it. “Hot hand’ shouldn’t just be about running backs.
“He showed some juice off the ball,” Todd Bowles said of Walker today. “It was very good for him turning the corner, so he’s got to continue to develop and he’ll get more time.”
Joe can only pretend to imagine the frustration of some in the Bucs front office after Walker got a total of 9 snaps in two games, both losses, while the Tampa Bay edge rush struggles.
HOW ‘BOUT DAVID WALKER ‼️
📺: #CLEvsTB on CBS pic.twitter.com/4mg4fUdYs1
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 20, 2026
September 21st, 2026 at 12:56 pm
Why are you surprised Joe , lol! This is Bowles we are talking about
September 21st, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Joe
We could have won yesterday from the 28 yard line will all running plays
I’m still confused why didn’t baker atleast get the 1st down first
Get it to 1st and Goal atleast man
What a joke
September 21st, 2026 at 1:01 pm
So wait, the only player getting the job done, doesn’t see the field…. Right. I think this team is tanking on purpose
September 21st, 2026 at 1:02 pm
It’s going to be a loooong season.
Any sign of StPeteMatt and his 13-3 predictions?
September 21st, 2026 at 1:03 pm
Dear fans. As a veteran since 1976, here is how you enjoy a Buc team that is this bad…”Embrace the Suck”….yes it is that simple. Otherwise you will feel bad about the situation.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:04 pm
Jarrett,
Joe seems to be throwing blame at everyone except the biggest problem through 2 weeks . BAKER!!
You know, the leader, the QB, one of the highest paid QBs in the league, the highest paid Buccaneer ever!
Blame Bowles, blame Licht, blame Robinson, blame rookies..all deserve some blame. But the biggest fraud and failure is the overpaid bum at QB.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:05 pm
These gullible, clueless YUCS fans and the local media.
Hyped up Reuben Bain so much……even though he NEVER played OLB
They made it impossible for David Walker to see the field
Between overhyped Bain and overhyped Yaya
Guys like Nelson, AQM, Walker can’t get on the field
It’s sad and pathetic
September 21st, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Maybe bench Ruben Baine for Walker.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:06 pm
mentioned this on a previous article….Walker came in a got a much needed sack, providing a spark to the defense and the stadium….and he wasnt seen again….
this coaching staff is horrible….
and i still see communication issues, busted coverages, poor tackling, poor pursuit angles and lack of urgency
my worst nightmare is the bucs going 2-10 and todd “rallies the troops” to win 5 straight games to close out the season, tricking the Glazers into thinking it’ll get better new year
gotta clean house with this coaching staff…..Licht does a decent job of evaluating talent, but picking coaches and contracts are his weakness
GO BUCS!!!!!
September 21st, 2026 at 1:09 pm
Likely because, as a d end, he can’t cover the deep third when we’re in cover 3
September 21st, 2026 at 1:12 pm
anyone else notice Otton wearing gloves lol
he made a great catch!!!!…not sure it doesnt happen without the gloves lol
GO BUCS!!!!
September 21st, 2026 at 1:14 pm
The JoeBuc mystery…
Why blame everyone but Baker???
I guess because you want to be right about saying they should pay him before the season. This isn’t reporting, this is a joke
September 21st, 2026 at 1:15 pm
The Glazers made their bed by keeping Bowles after last season’s collapse. Now they will have to live with a 2-5 win season because of that decision. John Harbaugh (a top 5 coach in this league) was available last season and the Bucs showed no interest. Let’s show our support for our owners by boycotting games until they decide to support our fans with a winning coach and GM. Also, I hope they don’t hire Tomlin next season. Like Bowles, he is a defensive minded coach, who’s teams have been stuck in mediocrity for years. We need a bright young offensive minded coach, like Liam Cohen, another coach they let slip through their fingers.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:15 pm
**It’s 1000% scheme.** It’s all Bowles. He can’t play the run, so he won’t play. The only reason Bain is playing is because he’s a first-rounder. Bowles doesn’t like his ability to play the run either. It’s really not that hard to understand: we have pass rushers, but he wants them to play the run and cover as well. I get that’s your scheme, so use Anthony Nelson, etc. But when YaYa, Kancey, Bain, and Walker are on the field, let them rush the passer and not worry about that BS.
Defense is about anticipation and playing fast, and Bowles’ scheme doesn’t allow that until you’re an All-Pro who can play multiple positions. Guess what? There are not a lot of those guys in the NFL period, let alone on one roster. But when he had guys like Suh, JPP and Shaq, of course he could do it—he had 3 veterans who learned and trained at an NFL level for 5+ years before they got here.
He will never develop a pass rusher because he wants them to be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none, whereas JPP, Shaq, and Suh all developed their pass-rush skills before they got here, so adding that stuff to their repertoire was easy and beneficial. It’s like taking a kid fishing for the first time: you don’t try to shove everything down their throat at once. Get the worm on the hook and the line in the water with a bobber, and then each time after that, add a little more.
So maybe, just maybe, teach your dogs to hunt—aka teach them to rush the passer. Then, after a few years of 10+ sacks, go, *”You know, if you added this coverage scheme to it, we could get you 3 more sacks because they won’t know if you’re coming at them or covering, and we can run these plays, etc.”* But again, he goes, *”This is my scheme, you do this,”* and forces a fish to fly, a bird to swim, and a round peg into a square hole. And what do you know? It doesn’t work.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Development huh. Lol. Gets productive then sits. Hes a freaking moron. Ill tell u that much. How about ppl that show up play. You haven’t Developmed anyone ever in this whole five years in fact they always regress as the years go on
September 21st, 2026 at 1:16 pm
Mystery? You cover the team. TODD BOWLES dude.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Kgh4life Says:
September 21st, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Maybe bench Ruben Baine for Walker.
imo, i think Bain’s shoulder is more injured than he or the bucs are telling anyone….
but yes, i’d bench Bain right now for Walker and i’d bench YaYa for AQM
I’d also think about kicking Wirfs inside to LG and have Benjamin Chukwuma play LT……Bredenson is trash and he’s making Barton look even worse….at that point you can chip with a TE to help the LT and Wirfs can help both LT and Center
and when Parrish comes back, Id bench Winfield for Scott and keep Morrison at CB….
one thing is for sure, the line up needs a shake up
GO BUCS!!!!!
September 21st, 2026 at 1:23 pm
Bowles has proven time & again that he cannot evaluate or coach edge rushers. This is no surprise.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:32 pm
Buc1987 Says:
September 21st, 2026 at 1:02 pm
It’s going to be a loooong season.
Any sign of StPeteMatt and his 13-3 predictions?
He’s off somewhere shagging his Todd Bowles doll.
Apparently the doll just like the man puts up zero defense.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:33 pm
“He’s got to continue to develop”….aka get better at dropping into coverage. I’m convinced a 4-3 defense would unleash the talent we have upfront and make life sooo much easier on the secondary where they might actually be free to make a play. Right now we take our best and biggest pass rushers and drop them into coverage while our undersized secondary attempts to navigate a wall of dudes nearly 2x their size…..and then wonder why we don’t create turnovers OR sacks!
September 21st, 2026 at 1:35 pm
Q: So why wasn’t Walker seen more? Joe doesn’t get it. “Hot hand’ shouldn’t just be about running backs.
A: Because there is zero pressure to succeed. Everyone is paid large sums of guaranteed years and money. It’s quite literally a money laundering scheme at this point.
The Glazers pockets are like that loose high school girl everyone had in their back seat. Easy with no consequences.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:46 pm
Toilet Bowles doesn’t make any sense this guy should be the starter until Bain gets healthier and picks it up.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:49 pm
I didn’t exactly see stout run D from the starters. Judkins gashed them for 6-9 yards in run situations multiple times.
No use arguing over who to blame. We can cover everyone’s favorite target through 2 games.
Baker, Bowles, Robinson, the OL, the DL, Anzalone… all garbage. The spine of the team is an overcooked spaghetti noodle right now.
September 21st, 2026 at 1:53 pm
It’s not about evaluating edge rushers, it’s about putting them in good schemes and coaching them up.
Bowles sucks and Baker sucks.
Nothing else matters
Name a NFL team with a bad HC and bad QB that wins? Doesn’t exist.
September 21st, 2026 at 2:00 pm
Bowles has time to wait on all these guys to develop? Lol. Stop going to the games people. Only way they’ll fire him in season. Unless of course you like paying big money to watch that. I didnt mind it in the 80’s , early 90’s when I paid $4 a ticket
September 21st, 2026 at 2:27 pm
1987…
And no DR either..
September 21st, 2026 at 2:29 pm
Been calling Bowles “ Kit Kat” for a while now.
Gonna switch it up and start calling him “Paycheck”. Pretty clear that’s all he’s here for.
September 21st, 2026 at 2:46 pm
That’s a fact Jmarkbuc and it’s trickled down to the rest of the team.
September 21st, 2026 at 2:47 pm
If Walker is getting pressure …. play Walker. Not that hard to figure out Todd.
You have a stable of rushers… play the hot hand. Couldn’t agree more (Joe).
Ridiculous and a comedy of coaching errors. This is coaching malpractice.
Clean house, purge all coaches. If the new coach can’t win with these guys, then Licht needs to go. I believe there is plenty of talent on the team.
**Why you can’t and never reroute a receiver is mind boggling. If TB isn’t demanding it, he is a fool!
**Why you feel a D-Tackle is good enough to drop in coverage is just malpractice.
I have seen enough and I am not surprised!
September 21st, 2026 at 2:48 pm
I think a lot of people are getting their words to describe TB as a HC/DC mixed up…I’m pretty sure the correct word is “buffoon” and NOT “guru”!
September 21st, 2026 at 2:54 pm
He must be terrible in coverage.
September 21st, 2026 at 2:56 pm
I just don’t understand the myth that someone has to develop? Develop to what? Another lame excuse for this head coach. Fire him, Licht and his staff.
September 21st, 2026 at 2:57 pm
Rod Munch would have to do the detailed ciphering, but at that sack rate he’d have to be pushing 100 sacks if he was starting. Bain at zero sacks. Hmm. Walker at 100 sacks. Hmm.
Bain must be a master at dropping into coverage. We’re just not paying attention.
September 21st, 2026 at 3:01 pm
Beginning to think Bowles doesn’t like him.
September 21st, 2026 at 3:37 pm
Bowels has to go, immediately!
September 21st, 2026 at 3:44 pm
Turn DE Loose!
September 21st, 2026 at 3:44 pm
DW
September 21st, 2026 at 4:13 pm
That is the highest quality sack I’ve seen a Bucs edge rusher make since probably Shaq in the Super Bowl. Some reason Walker and AQM can’t start?
September 21st, 2026 at 4:19 pm
Get rid of TB now o or he will waste Walkers season and another Bucs season.
September 21st, 2026 at 4:53 pm
If I’m one of the Glazer kids, it has now become very evident that we made the wrong decision at the end of last season. Now I have to decide if I am going to ride with my bad decision and all of the fallout from fans for the next +6 months, or if I want to be bold and try to win some games. The team feels lifeless and we are missing the violence and hitting that top-tier teams demonstrate every week. Todd doesn’t know how to fix it. Simple as that.
September 21st, 2026 at 4:57 pm
Bowles has got to go. This is just malpractice. Walker needs to.be in the game. Heck anyone making a play at this pt needs to be in the game. Bain needs to earn it just like everyone else.
September 21st, 2026 at 5:38 pm
None of you really know if Walker is good or not. You all buy the hype fed to u by JL. Barely flashed in preseason against 4 string O lines. Todd has quite quit but he just doesn’t know it yet. So sad. And yes , Baker has been bad to start the season missing many open receivers yesterday.