“They Don’t Have An Equation”
November 18th, 2025
The calculus is off at One Buc Palace.
The Bucs are like a box of chocolates. What’s the identity of the team?
Sometimes they pass with precision. Sometimes, like Sunday, they run with fire and fury.
Sometimes the defense is suffocating, like its complete lockdown of the Eagles (second half) and the Saints, and often against Detroit. Sometimes the defense makes fans think of suffocating themselves.
The formula for a Bucs win changes every week, it seems. And former Bucs guard Ian Beckles (1990-1996) thinks that’s a problem, so he ranted on his In The Trenches podcast.
“They don’t have an equation, and I think that’s scary. The Bucs don’t have an equation to win,” Beckles barked. “They don’t have it. They’ve still won some games but they don’t have an equation. Every game they win is a different equation. And I think that is a bad thing.”
Joe gets Beckles’ sentiment, but Joe actually thinks the Bucs’ ability to win games in various ways is a strength overall.
The real issues are inconsistency and so much inexcusable play from special teams.
If the Bucs’ special teams unit was simply as effective as it was last year, it’s likley Tampa Bay would have beaten the Eagles and Bills this season and would now be savoring an 8-2 record.
November 18th, 2025 at 11:56 am
Beckles is a twit. He’ll change his tune over the final 6 games.
November 18th, 2025 at 11:59 am
BB, what are you expecting over the last 6 games?
November 18th, 2025 at 11:59 am
agree with Joe…gotta be able to win different ways and the problem has been being inconsistent…
BUCS need to play with more consistency and urgency…
GO BUCS!!!
November 18th, 2025 at 12:01 pm
This team plays like it knows they just need to beat Atlanta, Carolina twice, and the Saints one more time. Do that like they’ve done the last two years is where this teams at. Doesn’t matter if we lose to L.A., just beat Carolina, and Atlanta. That’s the way this team has been playing, like it doesn’t matter losing to these good teams now. We’ll see if it bites them down the road. Our division games are never easy, anything can happen.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:02 pm
Throwing the ball on every 3rd and short and 2-point conversion attempt in a game where they are averaging 5+ yards per rush tells me all i need to know about the ineptitude ofn5his staff.
Dan Campbell would have run the ball two times in a row on every single set of downs that ended up in a 3rd and less than 3 in that game. Bowles and Co. opted to pass in every such situation. Ball game.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:02 pm
A consistent pass rush would help out immensely but this coaching staff seems to think that’s it’s not all that important to have our olb rush the QB and would rather them be covering wrs down the the field. It’s a bucs life.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:04 pm
They’re four plays away from being a two win team.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:08 pm
Damn good point Darin. That’s sobering.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:13 pm
Could have should have would have….
We are 6-4.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:16 pm
Great listen, good job Ian!!! Every word he says is 100% on point!!! we need a miracle Sunday night!! Defense needs a closed-door meeting, Cmon Tykee take over!!! Go Bucs!!1
November 18th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
The NFL has changed the last 20years ..Parody is real .Watching the NFL in the 70s 80s 90s you may have a couple 8pt plus upsets a season now you may have one every week ..That is why I laugh at the we could be 2-8 well so could 8 other Playoff teams
November 18th, 2025 at 12:20 pm
i conjured up the spirit of my dad bud total die hard bucs fan untill he passed away he told me to say the bucs have a hard time winning big games against good teams since tom terrific and father gruden oh thnx for the coverage blitz call against the rams cooper cuffed
November 18th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
Ian also said we have not beaten a Playoff team but the 49ers and Seahawks will make the playoffs but Ian may of been high and thought the Playoffs only include divison winners.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:33 pm
The bucs are inconsistent because the HC is inconsistent. The schemes and in game management are questionable sometimes and it leads to losses.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:38 pm
They never had a great defense this year. They had bad opponents. Todd Bowles is a legitimately bad defensive coordinator. It doesn’t really seem like he understands the modern game. Good QBs *love* blitzes because it means someone is definitely open. They hate it when their 5 can’t stop 4 because everyone is covered and they have no time.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:39 pm
Giving the Bucs a pass on offense with all the injuries I think the obvious problem is our defense. Bowles defense is too complicated for the defensive backs and to have Yaya running 40 yards down field for coverage with no pass rush is criminal. Dropping defensive lineman into past coverage is not intelligent. Ball defense basically is too much dependent on unblocked defensive backs being able to select the quarterback. Bowles needs to go.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:44 pm
This isn’t some mystery or rocket science.
Anyone with a bigger than a cashew sized brain knows it’s the defense dragging this team down.
Unfortunately our HC\DC falls into that category of minimal brain waves.
The guy is never going to change the way he approaches the game.
We are in for a long grueling ride down the Swiss cheese defense road.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:45 pm
Here is Tampa Bay Bucs “equation.” Doesn’t really matter what pass play Grizz calls, just let Baker freelance long enough to find an open smurf or maybe Cade Otton. The offense is down 45% of its starting 11. It is remarkable that the team has remained competitive. Next man up sounds heroic, but when you are missing proven multimillionaire receivers and O linemen, expectations need to be realistic. The defense is rarely reliable even with a full compliment of healthy players. When you have EDGE rushers 35 yards down field pretending to cover WR’s, something is very clumsy about the entire defensive scheme.
Don’t ever remember Steeler’s Steel Curtain sending Mean Joe Green out to cover WR’s or running backs. Pretty sure LC Greenwood never drifted into a cover Zero Zone defense.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Whether we reach the playoffs or not, we need a competent HC in addition to a DC. No team is going to poach our OC, so give him another year hopefully with a healthy team. I’m running out of time (I’m old) and just tired of trying to defend the head scratching decisions this HC makes.
Message for Grizz: you have three, possibly four, good to great RBs. Screw the HOT HAND nonsense. Utilize all of them. You’re short on WRs, all of your backs can catch. Substitute one or two of your backs and you might confuse the defense.
If you rotate your backs they stay more involved, and are less likely to get injured. Last season Tucker was Offensive Player of the Week, and then went into the witness protection program. Oh, and don’t forget about Tez either.
November 18th, 2025 at 12:52 pm
If I remember my math correctly, for an equation you have to have factors. In school the factors were posited and the teacher couldn’t put them on IR.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:20 pm
I agreed with Beckles on the “No identity” part, we don’t have won. Yes, we’ve won games, but there’s no sustainable thing we do on any side of the ball where teams know if they can’t account for it we’ll beat them.
Not the pass/run game on offense, we’ve been somewhat productive with both but have had a hard time sustaining success.
Defensively it might just boil down to blizting well at this point, as our run defense used to be bankable, but who know now. Pass D was trending towards being improved, but that’s been stamped out after the last handful of games.
This team is a mixed bag of some good, and too much bad for my liking.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:22 pm
The Bucs will lose one of those expected wins, that’s why games are played beyond expectations. The Bucs are not good enough to run the table and certainly one and done if they make the playoffs. Todd ball at its finest.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:25 pm
Toothless edge rush for $500, Alex!
November 18th, 2025 at 1:35 pm
You can’t show your identity when your wallets been stolen! A combination of injuries and maybe tinkering with the offense a little too much may be the reason.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
The equation is simple, have 1 more point than your opponent when the clock reads 0:00.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
If the Panthers win, our division bowles is toast.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:38 pm
Traditionally playing great defense has been the Bucs identity but we haven’t seen that consistently since 2021.
November 18th, 2025 at 1:41 pm
Anyone notice how much man defense they were running? Almost all of Baker’s completes were against zone, none of our people were getting separation against man
November 18th, 2025 at 2:23 pm
Why is Joe overlooking the early close wins that could have gone the other way?
Why is Joe not talking about 1-4 against Detroit, Philly, NE, Buffalo and Seattle?
This team is a sneeze away from being 3-7.
We were fooled by this team and its coaches and players and front office.
November 18th, 2025 at 2:28 pm
They do have equations.
3&2=pass
4&2=punt
November 18th, 2025 at 2:31 pm
What Todd doesn’t have is .. a clue.
November 18th, 2025 at 3:01 pm
I have the equation, Bucs- Todd Bowles = winning
November 18th, 2025 at 3:40 pm
Joe says. “If the Bucs’ special teams unit was simply as effective as it was last year, it’s likley Tampa Bay would have beaten the Eagles and Bills this season and would now be savoring an 8-2 record.”
Joe you nailed it!!! Why hasn’t TB replaced his ST coach? He continues to lose games for this team. Most everyone blames the D for the loss but ST played a major role perhaps as big or bigger role as the D! IMHO.
November 18th, 2025 at 3:43 pm
If this were Dallas, Detroit, or Green Bay…the special teams coach would be gone long ago!
November 18th, 2025 at 4:04 pm
KC are the kings of no formula. Patriots before them. Those 2 teams have dominated.
Both adapted to their opponents and won without any obvious “formula” as it changed week to week. They could both win in multiple ways and that’s been our goal (offensively) since Coen was here.
We need to be able to run, dink and dunk, hit explosives, etc etc
Multi faceted, effective, efficient….. That’s the formula!
November 18th, 2025 at 4:14 pm
You hear a lot of a team finding its identity l. Personally idk if this helps or not but it’s talked about a lot. The Bucs identity is inconsistency lol
November 18th, 2025 at 4:25 pm
beckles knows his ish…and he’s correct…
just because he delivers it in a meat & potatoes type way, some people don’t like him…
he tells it like it is and is usually pretty on point…
y’all want him to talk like the so called hoity-toity pundits do…
he knows football…
and yes there’s currently no equation on defense – that’s for sure…
and sadly enough, it’s kind of become that with the offense as well – even though we did put up 32 on the board on sunday…it was a weird 32
November 18th, 2025 at 5:03 pm
BOWLES IS NOT TOUGH ENOUGH ! HE NEVER SCREAMS AT PLAYERS WHEN THEY MESS UP NEVER REALLY HOLDS THE ACOUNTABLE . INSTEAD OF FIRING PEOPLE WHO UNDER PERFORM HE JUST LETS THEM STAY WITH THE SAME RESULT ! BOWLES IS A VERY STUBBORN MAN.HE DOES NOT CHANGE HIS WAYS. HIS SOFT ZONE IS KILLING US, BUT HE PLAYS IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO CREATIVITY. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH .
November 18th, 2025 at 5:36 pm
Eagles – yes.
Bills – doubtful. Perhaps your forgot that despite causing 3 turnovers, the Bucs defense still let the Bills go up and down the field at will for most of the game. I don’t care how many turnovers you got, giving up 6 touchdowns is ATROCIOUS defensive performance. Giving up 4 touchdowns the previous week was also pathetic.
This defense sucks.
November 18th, 2025 at 6:27 pm
@Les I don’t know what industry you work in but rarely does screaming at a full grown man get you anywhere, especially when you are old and twice the man you used to be. If my boss ever screamed at me I would lose all respect for him and laugh him off, especially if I was as rich as these pro athletes are.
Could Bowles show a little more passion, yes.
November 18th, 2025 at 7:23 pm
Bowles does his scolding privately while taking on most of the blame. We lost to the Rams in the divisional in ‘22 because tweezy got burnt by a white dude with a 20 yd cushion. Now everyone forgets that and he’s the highest paid safety in the league. Morrison blew his coverage so diaby tried to chase him down. Bowles took the hit.
Y’all haters never played a sport.
November 18th, 2025 at 7:51 pm
👍🏼@GanstaRIB
November 18th, 2025 at 8:04 pm
Beat the Rams baby !! Our Bucs can do this !!
Let’s Go !!
November 18th, 2025 at 10:50 pm
The equation should equal NO TODD! And until Jason figures this out, theres nothing good going to happen here….its stupid!
November 18th, 2025 at 10:52 pm
Can we beat a homeless camp? Maybe…..
November 18th, 2025 at 11:22 pm
Beckles is right in a sense. The Bucs have no equation at so many levels. Here is a simple example. 4th and 2: Bowles punts when any sane coach will go for it given Josh Allen had boat-raced the D and the Bucs D had not forced a punt all game yet when it comes to 2 point conversions which the Bucs royally suck at, Bowles goes for them even though the O is ONE for EIGHT on them instead of just taking the extra points. I gte punting on 4th and 2 if he does not trust Grizzard to dial up a play but he continuously has Grizzard to find a way to get 2 points and the dude cannot dial up a winning play without Mike Evans in there….. No logic with Bowles, njot even bad logic. He is arrogant and confused; just like the Smiths, both Mike and Lovie; not good company……
November 19th, 2025 at 12:54 am
One thing that I feel we struggle with is BIG plays against the defense. There are so many 40-50 plus yards throws and runs. Our defense blitz’s so much that the consequence is huge plays. We need to tone it down just a bit
November 19th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
Im not happy with our oc. Our quarterback don’t look happy or motivated. We could beat anybody even with backups, now we’re having problems scoring in the red zone! Got to say it: Grizard is NOT Liam cohen
November 19th, 2025 at 2:45 pm
They have to acquire talent!! Midway through I believe Dallas made five trades as well as many other teams so they can advance maybe to the playoffs! Our AC/DC loving manager should have made some trades! The coach, Todd bowls is not a head coach! They also need to take a look at the medical staff maybe make a few trades there as well.. another year!
November 19th, 2025 at 7:05 pm
Baker is the problem. Not because he is a bad player. Hell no. But I think his injuries are affecting his play. He’s not scrambling like he was. His throws are high and behind.
November 19th, 2025 at 7:27 pm
It’s not going to be a popular opinion, but I really don’t think we win more than three games the entire rest of the season. Bowles continues to be the kind of play caller and coach that will let us down. He seems to be able to give away easy games. He reminds me a lot of Tony Dungy, In all the bad ways. We should have fired him last year. Maybe this year will be enough to convince the glaziers that mediocre is never acceptable, especially when it comes to a coach.
November 19th, 2025 at 8:31 pm
Fire todd bowles he is a terrible coach. He doesn’t lead the team well. He calls terrible defenses in the worst moments. This due will send 10 people on an obvious 3 and 13 passing down and give up a TD like clock work. Idk how all these people rant and rave about him. Bring back Bruce. No risk it no biscuit baby