Air Tampa
June 30th, 2025
Buried behind a paywall was an unsurprising but not-so-obvious factoid about the Buccaneers offense.
“Since [Todd Bowles] took over as head coach in 2022, the Bucs have attempted more passes than any team in the league,” noted John Romano in a TampaBay.com column about Bowles allegedly being underappreciated by fans.
Joe knows the Bucs have been airing out it out since Bucco Bruce Arians arrived in 2019, but the context of most throws in the NFL over the past three years with Bowles at the helm made Joe take pause.
The “passing league” has its prototype on Dale Mabry Highway (one mile south of Bill Currie Ford).
No wonder the Bucs drafted a receiver in the first round!
Bowles, to his credit, seems hungry to keep throwing. He surely had input into the Bucs’ offseason, one that handed its most expensive contract to a receiver, and invested its greatest draft asset at receiver, as well.
Baker Mayfield ranked fifth in passes attempted last season at 33.5 per game. Patrick Mahomes was the only QB to reach the playoffs with more attemps than Mayfield.
The Bucs expect to keep on throwin’ this season — with Bowles cracking a few smiles along the way.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:19 pm
We need to find a great name for the Bucs offense this year. I like the McDill Air Raid!!! Or, McDill Air Force!!
June 30th, 2025 at 11:34 pm
It’s spelled MacDill, and… no.
June 30th, 2025 at 11:51 pm
Piraters?
July 1st, 2025 at 1:05 am
“most throws in the NFL over the past three years with Bowles at the helm”
1/3 of that total was from ’22 when the run game was basically non-existent and Brady led the league in passes thrown….
Bucs now have a good OLine and had a top 5 rushing attack last year.
Sure we have the best WR group in the league and a QB who can sling it – but we also have one of the best RB stables in the league as well.
Best to utilize both strengths somewhat equally (60/40 pass/run) which keeps defenses guessing, creates more passing mismatches on 1st and 2nd down and increases the offense’s time of possession.
Bucky should be averaging about 15 carries per game and the team should be averaging about 25 rushes per game.
July 1st, 2025 at 1:11 am
Well Leftwich had nothing to do with Arians who basically left that side of the ball untouched, so I wouldn’t really count anything on offense to Bowles until Canales was hired — which to be clear is a credit to Bowles, who couldn’t have believed that Leftwich was going to be so incompetent and stupid that he’d decide to ‘improve’ on Arians offense by dumbing it down and making it a billion times more predictable.
July 1st, 2025 at 7:09 am
If there has a defense they could be known as the “Air Pirates” or “Pirates of the Air”.
Maybe this year.
July 1st, 2025 at 7:47 am
I’ve found that I enjoy watching Baker even more than Brady. The last Buc qb I loved watching was Doug. Man, if I thought I could have sneaked up behind Hugh Culverhouse and yelled “BOO!” during those contract negotiations…The community would have paid for my legal defense
July 1st, 2025 at 8:01 am
He’s thrown a lot because until last year we had no running game. I suspect the percentage of passing plays will decline in 2025. Passing will still play a major role in the Buc’s offense, but the attack will be more balanced than in years past.
July 1st, 2025 at 8:12 am
ChatGPT has some ideas!: (LOL)
ChatGPT said:
A great pirate nickname for an NFL offense should sound fierce, fast, and intimidating — evoking images of dominance, unpredictability, and plundering defenses. Here are some strong options:
⚓ Pirate-Inspired NFL Offense Nicknames:
The Plunder Crew – Suggests they “steal” yards and points from defenses.
Cannonball Express – Fast, explosive, and impossible to stop once it’s fired.
The Black Sails Offense – Mysterious, deadly, and always looming.
Skull & Score – A play on “Skull & Crossbones,” combining intimidation with scoring prowess.
Buccaneer Blitz – High-speed, aggressive attack that overwhelms defenses.
The Crimson Corsairs – Stylish, dangerous, and merciless in the red zone.
The Jolly Roger Juggernaut – A powerhouse flying the flag of domination.
Sea Dogs of the Spread – For a modern spread offense with old-school toughness.
Deck Raiders – They don’t just move the ball, they board your defense and take over.
The Broadside Offense – Like a warship unloading its cannons all at once—fast, brutal, and game-changing.
July 1st, 2025 at 8:22 am
Pickgrin you know there’s only been three season since 22, so it would make sense that it would be 1/3 of the attempts.
July 1st, 2025 at 8:27 am
Bob is right
July 1st, 2025 at 9:13 am
The Pewter Power Xpress…..
July 1st, 2025 at 9:23 am
This isnt something to be celebrated. While you guys were busy blaming Bowles for everything, Coen’s out of control pass ratios were putting the team in very bad situations. Cost them the Cowboys game (50 pass calls, 19 RB runs vs the #30 rush defense) and nearly cost them the Panthers, Raiders and Saints games. Came out throwing vs the Broncos elite pass defense. Despite how good the WR room is, this should be a run first team with Irving and Tucker carries making up 50% of the offensive snaps
July 1st, 2025 at 9:46 am
“While you guys were busy blaming Bowles for everything, Coen’s out of control pass ratios were putting the team in very bad situations. Cost them the Cowboys game (50 pass calls, 19 RB runs vs the #30 rush defense) and nearly cost them the Panthers, Raiders and Saints games. Came out throwing vs the Broncos elite pass defense.”
Everything stated here is 100% fact. Not saying Coen is all bad, but he had alot of “this is his first time” calls in situations where a given call didn’t line up with the scenario. It was perplexing at times, but yes it def put us behind the 8ball unnecessarily enough times to notice.