It’s Practice
January 2nd, 2026
Talkin’ practice.
So how well will the Bucs play Saturday in their win-and-hope, don’t-and-die game with the Stinking Panthers?
After practice Thursday, Todd Bowles seemed to think the Bucs will be OK.
With Bowles the past few weeks all but suggesting players have quit on the team or at least not giving a “s(p)it” and/or not caring, Bowles was asked about the current mood of the locker room.
Bowles tried to paint a happy picture of unison and single-minded focus to win against the Stinking Panthers.
“[The] mood has been good all week,” Bowles said. “We had some good practices — probably some of the best we’ve had all year, but it’s got to translate to the game.”
And that’s just it. Will those practices translate to the field of play?
Joe remembers when former Bucs commander Greg Schiano was asked a similar question about the Bucs’ mindset at practice and if that will carry over into a game.
Schiano told a story of how Bear Bryant often said he could never tell if a good practice meant a good game or a bad practice meant a bad game. Schiano said if a guy like Bryant couldn’t identify a correlation, then he wasn’t going to try to guess.
So it sounds good that the Bucs had good practices this week. Let’s see if that means anything on Saturday.
Joe also will find out on Saturday how well most of the players respect their coaches. If the Bucs lay an egg Saturday and lose, Joe has to figure the players know their coaches are goners in the coming days.
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:04 am
Plausible its like some of the players at this point: Could NOT care less what bowels thinks or says…. Has 0 value!!!
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:06 am
Gut the whole team. Bunch of losers, all talk no game
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:17 am
I hope the Bucs win and get in the playoffs but then that means keeping Bowles…maybe? Idk but Grizzo and McGaughey should at least have their offices cleaned out by now. I can’t conceive any excuse to keep them around.
If they fire Bowlzo I would like the Bucs to interview head coaches that can build a staff like Arians and Gruden did. I’m thinking give Mike MacCarthy an interview, maybe Thomas Brown pass game coordinator for MVP Maye. Apparently he’s good friends with Ejiro Evero whose contract runs out after this season with the Panthers.
But keep in mind if they fire Bowlzo the Glazers are in the hook to pay his 3yr $12-$15 million salary to NOT coach the Bucs. Or are the Glazers going to shrink and go the Raheem route and get a HC on the cheap and start a rebuild?
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:24 am
Its over already….dont matter, win or lose….aints will lay down.
just let go of him and his staff after the game…..
Look to the positive…picking around 12 to 14 ish….new HC/DC/OC…
all good.
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:34 am
This week the Bucs will finally play a somewhat decent game on defense, offense will look great and win this game convincingly. Momentum has swung, “we are hitting our stride just in time for the playoffs” they will say after the game. Then the Falcons will beat the Saints and the season is abruptly over. Ending the season on a high note, but barely missing the playoffs, coupled with all the injuries this year buys Bowles one more year. Not what I am hoping for, but this would be a typical ending only the Bucs could pull off.
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:37 am
OC, DC, and ST coach should all be gone
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:48 am
unbelievable
Add GM to your alphabet soup 🥣
January 2nd, 2026 at 1:01 am
Fire the Staff! Look for the future. Most of the players quit awhile back. Rest all the core players.
January 2nd, 2026 at 1:21 am
I think its safe to say at this point that Bowles doesn’t have a very good read on his team anymore. What he thinks about practice is irrelevant.
There isnt enough young talent on this team to overcome the poor scheming and in game decisions by the staff. The last several weeks have already proven that. The 6-2 record was a mirage. We wouldn’t beat any of those teams right now.
January 2nd, 2026 at 1:24 am
Belowszo doesn’t know the difference between a good practice and a bowl of loose horse manure.
January 2nd, 2026 at 1:28 am
Are we talking about practice? Actual practice? OR just the soft A walkthroughs bowles is so in love with? Soft coach + soft practices = soft team. It’s not like it’s protected us on the injury front!
And I’m sure the players DO see their coaches are failing and want them gone. To us, they are just coaches of our team. To the players, those are their “bosses.” What person have you ever known to NOT have an opinion about their boss? Anyone commenting here that would like to see their boss fired? Probably a few. Same on the Bucs, I guarantee it!
January 2nd, 2026 at 2:05 am
Lay an egg please…
I mean, Seriously……I cannot even remember a more horrible stretch of just losing like this Morris or Schiano……heck, not even Smith or Koetter got this bad in terms of losing and massive complete drop off from winning games
Just end it already
January 2nd, 2026 at 2:08 am
We could go 0-17 & Bowles would probably still be safe.
January 2nd, 2026 at 2:12 am
Jason isnt going anywhere, get over it. Yes theres been some bad decisions and indecision at the trade deadline (which I attribute to him knowing some stuff going on behind the scenes, knowing its not worth making a move at the trade deadline).
Dont worry, we’ll wrap this up and send it off properly….then begin again. Its not over…..we’ll be back 🙂
January 2nd, 2026 at 2:31 am
i think chucky is on the way in…
sign sealed and delivered
January 2nd, 2026 at 5:02 am
Sounding positive so far. I may be overthinking, but Todd said “probably” when mentioning the practices being the best all year. He also said the “mood has been good” so what was it all before now?
My opinion, Schiano was one of the biggest mistakes ever. Even reading or hearing his name makes me shiver and not in a good way. It’s great to be reminded though that there are a lot worse out there.
January 2nd, 2026 at 5:02 am
What would really remind us of when it was “A Buc’s Life” is if we lose Saturday AND the Aint’s shut out the Falcons.
January 2nd, 2026 at 5:04 am
And yes, they are still the Ain’ts because they Ain’t got but 1 Super Bowl.
January 2nd, 2026 at 6:01 am
Oh no BuddhaBuc, I wasn’t even thinking that. We must win, for sure.
January 2nd, 2026 at 6:56 am
Have literally heard this all year. Every. Single. Week.
January 2nd, 2026 at 7:22 am
Reaaaaallllly rooting for Carolina to blow us OUT! GET BOWLES OUTTA HERE! Would rather see the Panthers get EMBARRASSED in the first round than see THE BUCS GET EMBARRASSED as usual in the first round under BOWLES! Dont wanna see another NFC west team have a record offensive game against Bowles lifeless defense.
January 2nd, 2026 at 7:30 am
Good walk throughs you mean.
January 2nd, 2026 at 7:43 am
Firstly, the Bucs have not played well for the past 7 weeks. It is highly unlikely that they will play well against the Panthers on Saturday. Should they, by some miracle, beat Carolina the still need help from Atlanta to get into the playoffs. I’m not holding my breath on that scenario.
I am already looking towards 2026 and hoping and praying that the Glazers decide to go a different route with a different HC. The 12 or 15 million that they might owe Bowles is nothing compared to what the Dolphins owe their former starting QB now that he has been benched. I hope that Jason Licht wrote in an escape clause of some sort that would allow Tampa to walk away from Bowles with very little cost.
The bigger problem is the locker room and the players. How to restructure the team to be winners and potential champions. This current team does not seem to fit that mold. I don’t know what the solution is, but continued mediocrity is not acceptable and it all starts at the top. Go Bucs. Go Canes and congrats on beating OSU. GB. Cheers.
January 2nd, 2026 at 9:11 am
The Bucs need to build a defense and get better coaches. Baker needs protection and thing will go better next year!
January 2nd, 2026 at 9:44 am
Are the Bucs players tanking the season because they see a need for regime coach change but fear the Glazers will keep Bowles in 2026.
If the Bucs lose their last game will there be all hell to pay?
January 2nd, 2026 at 9:53 am
It has been a while since I’ve seen this team have such a lackadaisical approach. Seems like there’s no fight or hunger to impose their will on other teams. We have been soft on defense(no hard hitters) since Jordan Whitehead’s last full year and even then, overall the defense was pretty soft when it came to hitting. But, at least then the defense swarmed to the ball and mostly made fundamental tackles.
January 2nd, 2026 at 10:02 am
The team will be fine with a head coach who they believe in. These players have been playing in the same horrible defensive scheme for years now and are tired of being put in a position where they are humiliated week after week.
January 2nd, 2026 at 10:40 am
we’ve had good practices since coming off the bye according to bowles lol
GO BUCS!!!!
January 2nd, 2026 at 10:51 am
Alas, they laid down this season.
Go Bucs
January 2nd, 2026 at 11:15 am
What assistant coaches are out there that you guys know WILL make a great Head Coach?……….Craig T. Nelson is still alive, maybe he and Jerry Van Dyke can get us back on track. Careful what you wish for. I do agree with a lot of you some change is needed. Special teams, (no brainer) fulltime defensive coordinator with his own scheme, (yes please) Head Coach??? Bowles is a good leader of men, a steadying force, but not a great gameday planer. We can do better and….. We can do a lot worse.(lost decade)
January 2nd, 2026 at 11:54 am
What does a coach do when our defensive pre-game strategy is confounded by an unexpected wrinkle in opposite offense? As soon as the Defensive coach recognizes he gathers the defense on the sidelines and coaches them through changes necessary so it can be corrected before the whole first half of the game. Can our DC do that? No, he is still coaching the whole team. So, no changes possible until halftime. That’s why a DC and HC should not be the same guy. A few can do it but certainly no Todd Bowles.
January 2nd, 2026 at 12:12 pm
The thought hit me recently that at this point, it’s not about whether or not we make the playoffs but it’s whether or not we win this last game. With all the injuries we’ve had winning 8 games is not the end of the world. So I think if we win, Todd Bowles gets another chance, with the caveat that he must revamp his defense by hiring a DC ( to work under his supervision) and hire another OC.
I think the reason we don’t have a better record is all the injuries to the …….OLine that’s been a major weakness since we lost our starting guards. It’s affecting our running game and pass protection. Of course, quarterback injuries and wide receiver injuries were a big part as well.
But, I think if the Bucs don’t play hard and we lose this game, Todd might be out.
I will never pull for my Buccaneers to lose !!
Go Bucs !! Beat the Panthers !!
January 2nd, 2026 at 3:46 pm
^ I don’t disagree with you about the guards, BUT- we won plenty of games early in the season while missing Mauch, Wirfs, Evans, Godwin, J-Mac, Bucky, Kancey, etc…
Now most of those guys are back and we look worse than ever.
And the defense has been relatively healthy all year and has been bottom-3 in nearly every defensive category since the bye week.
We started 6-2 and have completely collapsed since then, DESPITE getting healthier. So no, injuries are not an excuse. This team has quit on its HC. You don’t come back from that.
January 2nd, 2026 at 4:10 pm
I am SOOO sick of those of saying bowles is a “leader of men” and we just need to hire a DC. Do these men look like they are being led? Are they giving it their all despite talent or who’s on the field? You don’t need talent to play hard. He is NOT a leader of men. He is more committed to his precious scheme than maximizing their talents. Outside of like 3 guys, NOBODY on this team is playing hard. Does a leader of men blame his men for failure? Does a leader of men say he has no answers to problems the men face? Give me a freaking break!
January 2nd, 2026 at 5:25 pm
Maybe he is a great leader of men, but he is a crummy head coach.