Dan Orlovsky Likes The Bucs In 2026, But Isn’t Sure About That Defense
June 2nd, 2026
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
Former Bucs backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky is a big fan of the Tampa Bay offense. In fact, he thinks the Bucs should contend for the NFC championship just based on the offense alone.
But the defense? Well…
Orlovsky isn’t so sure about the Bucs defense. No one should be. The defense was lousy last year and Joe maintains that defense quit on Bucs coach Todd Bowles to a degree. .
But the foundation of that defense returns. And Orlovsky just doesn’t know what to expect.
“I guess the question mark, the unknown, is the defense,” Orlovsky said on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week, seen on BSPN. “I think with the defense is this: One, they’ve invested in that front big time.
“Obviously, they have Vita Vea. I believe they signed A’Shawn Robinson at the defensive tackles. So, you got two veteran defensive tackles.
“OK, if Rueben Bain is who everybody — you know, I trust in the draft process — says [Bain] is, then you’ve got Bain, you’ve got YaYa Diaby.
“I think they’ve got some young players in the back end.”
Joe really likes the signing A’Shawn Robinson. But the rest of the defense, Joe doesn’t see a major upgrade.
The Bucs are banking a lot on two rookies in the front-seven to play like veterans. That’s always a risk. And the secondary? Joe doesn’t think it’s as good as last year’s, which is not a compliment.
Anyone else get the shivers thinking of Zyon McCollum and Benjamin Morrison trying to stop Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins with Joe Burrow slinging the ball in Week 1?
"I think on paper the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a championship contender in the NFC..
I think their roster is one of the best in the NFL"@danorlovsky7 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/ZecnzhoVHp
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 28, 2026
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:04 am
If he flaps those ears hard enough, think he can fly? At least get off the ground.
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:10 am
But, but, but the defense is Baker’s fault…(quoting the resident idiots).
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:10 am
Bucs secondary didn’t get better. Jason needs to find two veteran CBs. The DC sure as heck didn’t get better. I expect the defense to look about the same as last year which is depressing. Why the Glazers kept Bowles is beyond me.
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:32 am
Bmo pretty much shut down AJ Brown in that game last year against the Eagles. I remember being impressed by the tape. I still believe he has high upside but we need to see more consistency. He has to take a step.
Winfield and Smith are A+
I love Parrish. McCollum has looked good, lets hope he bounces back.
If we’re mostly healthy and this new energy the team has that every one is buzzing about is the real deal, and they can execute Bowles’ scheme then the group should bounce back.
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:33 am
I have as much faith in Bowles as I did the Smith Brothers, Lovie & Mike.
June 2nd, 2026 at 5:41 am
Interesting to note: If you take every year that Bowles has been head coach or DC for a team and look at his team’s ranking in the NFL for both points allowed and yards allowed… h
is median ranking is squarely in the middle at 15.6 for points allowed and 15.9 for yards allowed.
His best ranking was 4th for yards allowed (Jets 2015)
His worst rankings were 29th for points allowed (Eagles 2012 & Bucs 2019)
The year we won the Super Bowl he had our defense ranking 8th for both…
So he is capable of some good defenses… And some BAD ones. We will see what we get this year.
I don’t know if a median of a 15th ranked defense across your career makes you good or bad in this league… but it sure seems like mid if you ask me.
June 2nd, 2026 at 6:20 am
A’Shawn is an upgrade in run defense but not pass rush. Charmin Bowls should sub in Elijah Roberts on passing downs. The Bucs upgraded the edge rush with AQM and Bain, but the interior pass rush will be poor unless Kancey actually plays this year.
June 2nd, 2026 at 6:36 am
“” Joe maintains that defense quit on Bucs coach Todd Bowles.””
And that is exactly why it was a sin to retain this guy. 31 other teams would have fired him and that is hardly debatable.
June 2nd, 2026 at 6:36 am
” Joe really likes the signing A’Shawn Robinson. But the rest of the defense, Joe honestly doesn’t see a major upgrade. ”
I think AQM, Bain, and Anzalone are upgrades. Let’s wait and see how good Trotter is in pass defense, and if Keonte Scott gets many snaps.
June 2nd, 2026 at 6:43 am
Well Mad Max offense was 21st last year and the defense was 19th…..And as I stated several things nes before, 2023 defense was 7th in points allowed. Offense was 23rd. Canales was the OC. OL was healthy and Baker,White, Otton, Godwin and Evans started ALL 17 games..But hey,no reason to let facts and logic debunk a good argument. Your hero has a foot and a half out of the door and is inching closer to obscurity. Daper Dan and Chris Simms may think otherwise but it’s Arizona to be a bridge QB after this.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:08 am
BBBB. You wake up early and you lie like a dog. You spout untruths like a lying little bltch. Did you know that? In 2023 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers averaged 88 yards rushing per game. That was 32nd in the NFL. Hainsey was our center. I don’t even remember the dude’s name at left guard. Mauch was a rookie at right guard and Luke Goedecke had just moved from guard to tackle. Last year our offense scored 22.4 per game (18th) and our defense allowed 24.2 (20th). Stop your lying BBBB. You have quite a reputation on our site BBBB. As an idiot who doesn’t know a lick about football. But mainly as a liar.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:25 am
Joe … ‘The Bucs are banking a lot on two rookies in the front-seven to play like veterans. That’s always a risk. And the secondary? Joe doesn’t think it’s as good as last year’s, which is not a compliment.’
Yes the Bucs are banking on Bain & Trotter to ‘play like veterans’, but we banked on Wirfs & Winfield to ‘play like veterans’ also, and we all remember how that turned out. In both cases we’re talking about 1st & 2nd Rnd picks.
I admit that the Secondary concerns me also Joe. I’m actually more confident in Morrison than I am in McCollum. Zyon has the height, the speed, the skills, but I’m just not confident any longer that he’s got the maturity to handle adverse situations. And games a chock full of adverse situations for CBs. I’d feel much better if we added a veteran CB to the mix, someone like Rasul Douglas would be adequate.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:46 am
About to hit people with something that will be taken wildly out of context.
People need to have patience with BMo after only one year. Nobody thought Rhonde was getting a gold jacket after his rookie year.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:55 am
The Bucs made significant upgrades to their run Defense – the idea being make the opponent’s offense one dimensional.
If the Bucs’ D is successful in significantly improving the run Defense, then that is when Bowles’ blitz packages are most effective and additional pass rush pieces that have been added (including a healthy Kancey?) gives Bucs fans optimism for a much improved D this year.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:32 am
Yes Joe totally agree the thought of Morrison and McColumn going up against some prime time receivers this year is actually depressing . Well said, the Bucs secondary is now worse than last year and last year was ah pretty bad. I agree the year before McColumn had moments. However, last year his only moments went from bad to awful. The Rams game may have been the worst. It was like High school kids going against pros. McColumn and Morrison this year may turn out like Dennis last year. The first game with Cinn will tell you how McColumn and Morrison will be for the season. I am expecting this secondary to give up a ton of points.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:34 am
When the defensive-minded Incredibly Average Tod Bowles’ biggest question/problem about his team is his defense, he has failed at his job.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:48 am
The defense should be better since the past his prime loafer retired. Perhaps real leadership will emerge with the influx cof Bain, Anzelone etc. Addition from subtraction. Beside Bowles in recent years tried to make chicken salad from chicken poop while the bucs loaded up on offense. With better hustling players our defense should be better
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:50 am
Being “ good against the run” Is really a fallacy, when teams throw all over you because they can.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:53 am
Of course we’ve gotta believe that the M&M boys(McCollum and Morrison) are going to be the ones. They might be, too. A little concerned about McCollum last season getting challenged and seemingly shrinking from that. He was banged up, though, and we didn’t have the fire on defense to pull him out of that. Winfield and Smith and Parrish have to lead. This Scott 4th rounder needs to learn from these guys, too. We sure should get us a veteran corner, but hopefully he will be for depth. Walker and Bain and Muhammad and Diaby have a really good chance of making the M&M boys be all the rage this winter. Go Bucs!
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:23 am
I’m excited to see our front.
In my mind, we’ve got at least 2 different front groups:
OLB-Bain/AQM
DE(DT)-Kancey/Roberts
NT(DT)-Vea/Robinson
OLB-Yaya/Walker
Mix in guys like Capehart, Nacho, maybe Simmons or this Jayson Jones dude with the elbow brace who looks humungous. Keep interior OLmen off our 2 starting ILBs, eat doubles and consume space while affording the guys on the edge as many 1 on 1’s possible in pass sets. Kancey being healthy will be a bonus in the sense that even if we lose him, I think we make up for his abscene with one of the bigger dogs we added.
Most interested to see where and what we ask of Keionte Scott. I’ve thrown the Moneybacker role around on here a bit, but when you look at his game Scott functions like a box safety from the CB position w/some coverage skill and even more tenacity.
What I want to see is how the trio of Tykee-Parrish-Scott do in the sense they can all cover for one another in some capacity with Parrish being good enough to line up on the boundary. Could be wrong, and it may not be seen as a positive but I’m starting to thing we’ll be more match-up based with the boundary corners.
B-Mos’ play was okay at best as a rookie. The tape he put out in back to back games from New England to Buffalo is what’s going to get him marked by OCs this upcoming season. So, he better be ready to turn into the next Aqib Talib if he wants to win his job, because I don’t have as high doubt of Parrish being as good if not better than him as a player long term.
How our defense will look is a legit concern, but I think we’ve got some pieces to be good. Whether or not the play of the players fosters the environment to be successful is a whole different deal.
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:26 am
I see a lot of people including the “Joes” putting words in their comments like hopefully, if, and should.
Allow me to join in your word salads.
Hopefully this is the last season we have to watch the cigar store Indian meandering around the sidelines.
If the Glazer kids get their heads out of their hind ends and finally inspire change, we then should be a drastically better team.
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:36 am
Joe has a point in that we quite probably got worse in the secondary. We all loved to carp on Dean, but he was our best corner when he was available. I like the 4th rounder we added in Scott, but I think they want him at nickel. Parrish is very good. Morrison is more fragile than Dean ever was. I think the huge new contract kinda made McCollum poop his pants. Maybe he will recover. Maybe he won’t. Winfield seems like he’s already on the back nine. Smith is strangely well regarded. As far as loafing goes I see Smith loafing more than anybody. If the play gets past him he just quits. Josh Hayes and whoever the two nobody’s we signed are just special teams guys. Do we have anybody in reserve at all? No. We do not. Believe it or not, I truly believe we will miss Izein too. He wasn’t a star, but he was a good player. Outside of Winfield and Smith all I can remember is a guy who I think is named JJ Robinson or something like that. He spent last year on IR. We could probably be more in need of a safety than another corner
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:24 am
I love ole Dan-O, but it’s really a lot more like, ‘Dan-Oh-No.” Since he is NEVER freaking ‘right’ on ANYTHING, EVER. He is always biased towards EVERY QB, and allows his heart and emotions to get in the way of REALITY. He is the same way with certain teams that he has a personal connection with, as well. He just cannot help himself. But, it’s one thing I like about Dan… He is always positive. Even, when literally, EVERYONE ELSE, can see the sinking ship. He is always THE very last one to jump off. He’s a good dude. Just NOT someone you should take seriously, most of the time.
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:26 am
Word has it that Bowles has been scheming up some new defensive approaches. Was reported last year by the Joes and other media outlets. We didn’t see much as Kancey went down and the ILB room collapsed. Bowles spent his time scheming up ways to cover for lack of bodies and talent. Still he did plug holes until the bottom fell out.
Expect to see new designs and more mix-n-match. The League is going heavier so Licht brought in more muscle. Bowles loves, loves, loves safety play and so we now have at least six such players able to serve in that role. The front has more talent
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:38 am
Word has it that Bowles has been scheming up some new defensive approaches. Was reported last year by the Joes and other media outlets. We didn’t see much as Kancey went down and the ILB room collapsed. Bowles spent his time scheming up ways to cover for lack of bodies and talent. Still he did plug holes until the bottom fell out.
Expect to see new designs and more mix-n-match. The League is going heavier so Licht brought in more muscle. Bowles loves, loves, loves safety play and so we now have at least six such players able to serve in that role. The wings have more talent and speed. We can see that the roster is designed to defend in waves, kinda like the Seahawks and others have been doing the last few years.
Two points: A real limitation to this approach is personnel. It’s easier to assign a lot of roles to a few players than to find guys who can really multitask. It’s great to say someone will cover and zone and crash down the line and play centerfield. It’s hard to name many people who can actually DO it, and we may not have many — or any — on this team.
Also, Bowles has flirted with odd defensive combinations. A few years ago he tried a 2-4-5 on passing downs. Seems to me that Bain is more natural with a hand in the dirt, so we could end up playing something resembling a 4-front on pass downs regardless of his commitment to the 3-4. Watch for the beef on the first two downs and a speed set for passing downs.
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:41 am
I hope so Lou…. as much as i bash him at times, I really do want to see Todd succeed. That means our men are going places and things are looking uP! And I’ll drink uP to that!
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:41 am
Seattle was without their 4-BEST DB’s in that game at Seattle last season, and everyone just continues to gloss over that. Wirfs had returned and was an ‘ANIMAL’ in that game. They played with an EDGE. And, It was one of the most entertaining games of the season. But, there sure wasn’t very much to cheer for after that… Baker was REALLY feeling himself, after that one. MVP. MVP. MVP. Oh, and then comes the commercials, and in-home full-length pregame interviews, AND THEN the whole QB docu crew following him around. Yep. Mike and Godwin were mostly on the bench recovering, and Lavonte got OLD and lost interest, in a HURRY. There was a HUGE “Leadership” void leftover. We had NO LEADER, who elevated the team. Not EVEN, to squeeze-out ONE extra ‘win’ with THAT remaining SCHEDULE. He’ll, it was all we could do to beat the lowly Cards and Jacoby Brissett, by 3… AT HOME.
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:56 pm
The front 7 and depth chart is much better than last year. CB has potential to be better. Dean was always hurt. Just sign a vet DB and get ILB for depth and you got everything you need. Parrish, McCullom, Morrison and Scott could be very good.