Have The Bucs Really Become A Physical Defense?
June 25th, 2026
Getting physical?
Ever since the 2025 season ended with a loud thud, Joe has heard many Bucs types (many times) say the Bucs wanted to get more physical and ornery on defense.
And boy, they sure needed to.
So the Bucs went out and signed/drafted the likes of A’Shawn Robinson, Alex Anzalone, Rueben Bain, Josiah Trotter and Keionte Scott, all physical guys who wear their hearts on their sleeves and play with unbridled passion.
And maybe the Bucs really will reach that goal as NFL strongman Roger Goodell penalized the Bucs for an underwear football practice (wwwooo) for being too physical.
Joe doesn’t know how a team can get more physical when it cannot hit in underwear football, per NFL rules. But the fact the Bucs got their palms whacked with a ruler by the nuns who work for the NFL made NFL Network reporter Sara Walsh wonder if indeed the Bucs are already transforming from a cuddly soft defense to a physical outfit.
“One thing that’s really interesting is at the end of last year, when the Bucs were not going to the playoffs for the first time in five years, YaYa Diaby talked about the fact that there were too many walkthroughs, too many mental reps,” Walsh said on “The Insiders.” “There has been an increase, a ramp-up, in physicality, even in this offseason for this Buccaneers team, in terms of practices.
“So that’s sort of one of the changes that we are starting to see.”
Joe is not knocking Walsh, but it’s sort of hard for Joe to see how a team can get more physical when they cannot yet hit. Still, the Bucs were busted for too much physicality in a no-pads practice. That likely meant the NFL saw too many Bucs players on the ground.
One way to get on the ground is by being blasted, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
So maybe, just maybe, even in underwear football, the message to the defense to be more physical and violent and nasty was heeded.
June 25th, 2026 at 7:03 am
The players can practice away from the facility and get more reps in.
Temperatures are about to start getting even higher though.
June 25th, 2026 at 7:08 am
A Physical Defense? Then there is a picture in the inset of Mr One Too Many Kit Kats!!!
June 25th, 2026 at 7:20 am
……I ain’t trying to to hear all this right now. They were soft, they quit, (thanks to your fearless “leader” lavonte) and haven’t been able to get off the field like a real defense in years, and yet a lot of you have done mental gymnastics in your head suggesting that being a bend but don’t break defense is somehow good. No. We deserve zero benefit of the doubt and they pissed down their leg end of year by not winning the absolute sorriest division in football – and there is way too much emphasis on winning the most pathetic division in football. Wake me when they force teams to punt, and we don’t have clown stories about yo-yo yaya getting close to the quarterback. Not sacking the quarterback mind you, but getting close!
June 25th, 2026 at 7:21 am
More physical? I’ll say they are not more physical until they prove that they are. The defense quitting last year was obvious to anyone that watched a game. It’s still stuck in my craw.
June 25th, 2026 at 7:25 am
Wake me in August
June 25th, 2026 at 7:30 am
I never understand, you are at the facility all day. You have unfettered access to world class workout/ conditioning equipment, conditioning experts, meal plans and food. And still so many of these coaches are tubs.
June 25th, 2026 at 7:39 am
Coach Bowles does his conditioning at the Golden Corral buffet line.
June 25th, 2026 at 7:58 am
old folded arms, flaccid Bowels couldn’t stimulate a meth head. Just remember Bain didn’t play in a 3-4 defense at Miami, so when you see him 20 yards downfield covering WR1…..Bowels wrecks good players
June 25th, 2026 at 7:58 am
The defense has become as hard as wood pecker lips and they will stay hard all season!
LFG!!!
June 25th, 2026 at 8:09 am
Lt Dan … ‘The defense quitting last year was obvious to anyone that watched a game.’
I recognize that it’s fashionable to ‘follow the crowd’ Dan, but to paint an entire defense with the same paint brush does them a disservice IMO. They didn’t all quit, but several certainly didn’t play up to their potential. And since the NFL is the highest level in the sport, their failures were quite obvious.
Most wouldn’t say that they quit when the team started off 6-2. The Bucs’ defense gave up a total of 178 points in those first 8 games … 22.3 PPG average. Not great, but they really struggled in just 2 games (31 pts to Philly & 38 pts to Seattle). Yuck, but in the other 6 games they only gave up 109 pts … 18.2 PPG average. Not that shabby.
But THEN came those fateful 3 games after the BYE week, losing to the Patriots, Bills & Rams in succession. Our defense surrendered a whopping 106 pts in just those 3 games … 35.3 PPG average. It didn’t help that those opponents had the #2, #4 and #1 offenses in the NFL, but danged, 106 points? Those 3 losses broke our back IMO.
But then look at the remaining 6 games when we went 2-4 and ended up 8-9 on the season. Our defense gave up 127 points total in those 6 games … 21.2 PPG average. Had we averaged that for the entire season, we would’ve ended as the #11 defense. That defense didn’t quite by any means; we won those 2 games in that stretch BECAUSE our defense held the Cardinals to only 17 pts and held the Panthers to only 14 pts.
Our 2025 defense lacked TALENT in certain position groups, and we lacked EXPERIENCE in other places, but as a TEAM I don’t buy at all that THEY quit. I personally believe that it was the walk-through practices that ‘did them in’ but from what I read at the time, those were because we had way too many people beaten up and had to let them get better.
June 25th, 2026 at 8:11 am
If this team can stay relatively healthy all season, watch out!
June 25th, 2026 at 8:19 am
So D.R. If the defense played decent, what’s the real reason for losing all those games? 🤣🤣🤣
June 25th, 2026 at 8:25 am
@ DR
You are not wrong with your analysis…
HOWEVER – all the true Buc fans remember is the embarrassing loss to Atlanta on Thursday night with the entire season on the line.
3RD and 28 my friend!!!!!
4TH and 14!!!!!!!!!
When this team’s defense had a chance to step up and secure another NFC South trophy – they failed in the most horrific way.
NOT GOOD.
June 25th, 2026 at 8:30 am
“HOWEVER – all the true Buc fans remember is the embarrassing loss to Atlanta on Thursday night with the entire season on the line.”
Simple pleasures, for simple minds
or
Would it be simple complaints for simple minds?
“I recognize that it’s fashionable to ‘follow the crowd’ Dan, but to paint an entire defense with the same paint brush does them a disservice IMO”
This is how a Bucs fan says “Moo”:
“When this team’s defense had a chance to step up and secure another NFC South trophy – they failed in the most horrific way.”
June 25th, 2026 at 8:34 am
Lifetime.500
June 25th, 2026 at 8:35 am
I could care less about trying to gauge “how” physical the team is, it’s like standing in a storm and trying to gauge how wet rain is-it comes with the environment.
What I prefer in regards to physicality is hearing how it translates to these guys doing their jobs imposing their wills on opposing teams. Especially upfront, which should be improved to the point we can rely on 4 and get creative with the 5th & 6th men in the box. Tone down the simulated pressures and start attack with more regularity.
June 25th, 2026 at 8:41 am
Ok, I’ll give Bowles a break , I Mean the guy is coaching for not only his job but also his legacy, & his future. I think he really wants to succeed this year. That said I’m hoping that our ROCK STAR GM knows how to pick guys who want to rebuild the pride of the BUCCANEERS our Defense. Hope he picked guys that will be mean, nasty, aggressive, quick to the ball . We already know he didn’t over spend cause he took mostly 2nd tier talent , but still it’s a big big upgrade over who they let walk. ( He was careful to leave enough Glazier’s dollars to get the underwear team in the UK new digs, they always gonna take care of them 1st). So hopefully he got guys who want to be hero’s of TAMPA BAY.. T his looks like a better TEAM so far, our Offense will be good baring injuries. Our Defense may well be head & shoulders better, if so we WIN THE SOUTH !!!! It could happen!!!!
June 25th, 2026 at 8:44 am
@ warren
“I could care less about trying to gauge “how” physical the team is, it’s like standing in a storm and trying to gauge how wet rain is-it comes with the environment.”
This is the most idiotic thing said about football I have ever heard.
It’s obvious you have never played a single down of real football in your life.
Please stick to your safe spaces and “fantasy football”…
LOL!!!
Love you buddy.
June 25th, 2026 at 8:49 am
DR I think it was a lack of talent in certain areas along with some guys skating by. I mean NE and Buffalo were easily winnable games, Rams smacked us in the face from the opening bell. The rest of those losses just was not able to stop big plays on D and a lack of offense, which I think everyone wondered where it went. That was the 2nd half of the season in a nutshell.
June 25th, 2026 at 8:50 am
“This is the most idiotic thing said about football I have ever heard.”
You mean like saving -$13M?
June 25th, 2026 at 8:53 am
@ warren
You have proven what I have always known about you buddy.
You never played a single down.
You are just another “fantasy football” clown.
Go Bucs!
Love you buddy.
June 25th, 2026 at 9:02 am
“You have proven what I have always known about you buddy.
You never played a single down.”
LMAO, look who’s getting emotional
You know eff all about me, other than the fact that I’m better at math and digesting numbers than you, thus “fantasy clown”
You need more cowbell, sir.
June 25th, 2026 at 9:20 am
Ballwasher 61 … ‘I think it was a lack of talent in certain areas along with some guys skating by’.
No question in my mind about the ‘lack of talent in certain areas’. I’m not sure how we (as fans) could gage ‘some guys skating by’. What I think I saw too many times was INDECISIVENESS; players freezing for a moment or taking a step in the wrong direction THEN trying to recover (unsuccessfully very often). I tend to believe that’s one of the key things that happened when opponents broke explosive plays on us (and they did that FAR TOO OFTEN).
I’ve wondered sometimes if certain players KNEW partway thru the season that they wouldn’t be part of the Bucs’ plans in the future, but that their replacements weren’t onboard yet. MIGHT make it harder for them to stay totally committed to the Bucs for the remainder of the season, although I also think that true professionals can work through that.
June 25th, 2026 at 9:22 am
“I’ve wondered sometimes if certain players KNEW partway thru the season that they wouldn’t be part of the Bucs’ plans in the future, but that their replacements weren’t onboard yet.”
Kindle Vildor comes to mind immediately.
June 25th, 2026 at 9:32 am
Marine Buc … ‘HOWEVER – all the true Buc fans remember is the embarrassing loss to Atlanta on Thursday night with the entire season on the line. 3RD and 28 my friend!!!!! 4TH and 14!!!!!!!!!’
True fans remember only TWO PLAYS out of well over 1000? No question Marine that those 2 plays weren’t our defense’s finest hour, but just out of curiosity …
o Why didn’t you ALSO remember Baker getting intercepted at 8:28 of the FOURTH QTR when we were on the Atlanta 33? McLaughline could’ve kicked a FG from there had it gone incomplete & we MIGHT have won 31-29 IF that INT hadn’t happened.
o And why not remember ALSO Baker getting sacked on the Tampa 35 with 2:20 still to go ? You surely THAT critical series (our last of the game). With 1-and-10 with 2:28 to go, Bucky got stuffed for MINUS 4 yds, then Baker threw Short Incomplete to Egbuka, THEN he got sacked on 3rd down & we punted. So WHERE was our OLine in that series? Where was our QB & RB & WR? Oh wait, they’re not on defense so we’ll just ignore THEIR contribution to the loss (or lack of a contribution)?
Still a TEAM SPORT and every down counts.
June 25th, 2026 at 10:07 am
ATLBuc … ‘So D.R. If the defense played decent, what’s the real reason for losing all those games? 🤣🤣🤣’
OK, just rechecked my wording. To my knowledge, never said the defense played ‘decent’. They (like the offense) were very much UP AND DOWN during the year. Some things were ‘good enough’; others were gross.
Injuries played a role (LVD’s knee all season long for instance). Talent (or lack thereof) played a role (I won’t name names; no need to). Play-calling played a role (coaches aren’t immune from screwing up as we all know). And execution (or lack thereof) played a huge role.
June 25th, 2026 at 10:14 am
Joe, I heard that the Bucs lost that practice because Josiah Green flattened the Rays mascot (the game that Bain threw a pitch). At least that’s what the internet says.
Seriously, heard Green do an interview with a podcaster and it was pretty cool. Green got a degree from Dartmouth then played a year at Duke. Dude is very, very smart as he said he’s pretty much already learned the playbook.
As to our D, starting to get optimistic that with the additions, we will be much better.
Go Bucs ! ! !
June 25th, 2026 at 10:15 am
No. Until they show it in a regular season game, no.
June 25th, 2026 at 11:13 am
The human KitKat bar will turn physical players into soft goo just like his midsection.
Perhaps when people see Bain 30 yards downfield covering a WR they will start to understand what we are dealing with.
If you got food poisoning after hiring a private chef, would you hire him again?
The Glazers would apparently. 8-9 is like a rare bottle of wine to them.
June 25th, 2026 at 11:37 am
YaYa
June 25th, 2026 at 12:26 pm
The ever-growing lard tub who is the smartest genis in the league will make sure regression is the top theme for all three units.
June 25th, 2026 at 12:38 pm
Hell Yeah! Run the ball,play defense! Out with the old,in with the new!
June 25th, 2026 at 12:50 pm
picked up some over 30 year olds and couple rookies to fix a bad defense . dont get too excited , if it happens great but its mostly question marks right now and wishful thinking.