Leadership Gains Impress Todd Bowles
September 1st, 2026
What caused the great Bucs collapse of the 2025 season?
Some injuries and some quitters, sure. Poor leadership?
Joe can’t argue with anyone arguing the Bucs had poor leadership last season. Todd Bowles launched a bunch of key coaches, and it seems half the organization is lauding 2026 roster additions for how their tough-guy mentalities rub off on people and represent a step up.
Heck, one of last year’s captains asked to be traded after the season. Leader!
The Joe typing here believes in leadership. First, the vast majority of coaches and players in every sport believe in it. Second, the Joe typing here has never been part of team where player leadership wasn’t a factor — positive or negative. That written, teams with good leadership get pummeled often by teams with better talent and miserable leadership. Joe will take talent and skill over leaders any day of the week.
Today, Todd Bowles was asked to state the strength of his team and what it can lean on.
Bowles went to the leadership card.
“I believe we’re mentally tough,” the Bucs head coach replied. “Again, we haven’t played a game yet; our identity is yet to be revealed, but I think we are very mentally tough and we have more leaders overall than we’ve had in the past.”
Joe’s glad Bowles put that on the record. Let’s the see the leadership prevent the annual implosion that’s plagued the Bucs during Bowles’ tenure. That must happen this season.
September 1st, 2026 at 1:43 pm
a head case helmet Tapping Hammy pulling afraid of competition WR Icon is gone in addition to a washed up LVD and a soft Jameal Dean. Yes, I concur with soft in the recent past. New guys are Mean Boyz. What this team needs. LFG!
September 1st, 2026 at 2:02 pm
We needed better team leaders, who’s fault is that? Leadership starts at the top, no? Isn’t leadership ultimately on the HC?
September 1st, 2026 at 2:03 pm
đ„±đ„±đ„±đ„±đ„±đ„±đ„±
September 1st, 2026 at 2:08 pm
Head coach sets the tone
Players reenforce it
Todd is oatmeal
September 1st, 2026 at 2:10 pm
Leadership starts with Bowles. He still doesnât get it.
September 1st, 2026 at 2:17 pm
Iâm trying to remain optimistic, but we do have a four year body of work that makes it difficult. Go Bucs.
September 1st, 2026 at 2:31 pm
I agree with Joe: “Joe will take talent and skill over leaders any day of the week.” Last year the Bucs had leaders, but the team still choked at the end of the season.
We need players who can rise to the occasion, closing out halves and closing out games. Mostly talent with some leadershp.
September 1st, 2026 at 2:32 pm
Hehehe hahaha hohoho
What a scammer
September 1st, 2026 at 2:43 pm
WR icon out for 49ers week.
September 1st, 2026 at 2:44 pm
SB~LV đ Says:
Head coach sets the tone
Players reenforce it
Todd is oatmeal
^^^^^^^^^^^
That’s why this team will collapse midseason … again.
September 1st, 2026 at 2:51 pm
Donât have clustered injuries in your 2 most important units and talent will carry you regardless. Those units are offensive line and secondary. Any players missing in either one are easiest to take advantage of by opponent coordinators (other than QB but that goes without sayingâŠ).
September 1st, 2026 at 3:05 pm
We we’re absolutely lacking tone setters on defense. Teams knew if they just came out on fire and punched us in the mouth that we would just stumble around swinging aimlessly the rest of the game. We seem to have brought in some young AND veteran guys who have an edge to them, but they still need to execute. If they can be mean AND disciplined then we could be dangerous. But a lot is riding on two rookies to suddenly be top performers as well as leaders.
September 1st, 2026 at 3:18 pm
That photo is one of the most telling that I’ve seen in quite awhile. A’Shawn Robinson looks HUUUGE in that photo compared to RNR. Yet Robinson is only 1″ taller (6’3″ vs 6’2″) and only 15 lbs heavier (320 vs 305). Just that look on Robinson’s face reminds me a lot of how Ndamukong Suh used to periodically look at folks when he was ‘unhappy’. Don’t think I’d ever want to tangle with an ‘unhappy Suh’.
September 1st, 2026 at 3:22 pm
I enjoyed watching Anzalone on the sidelines last game with the earpiece in listening to defensive calls. Leadership.
AâShawn Robinson is a vocal leader, tone setter, and thumper.
The Miami Mauler doesnât mess around, and Trot wants to tear someoneâs head off.
Nacho is a fireball of energy.
Changes are here – now letâs go get it done!
September 1st, 2026 at 3:39 pm
Irregardless of wins and losses. There is a lot of excitement to see how a lot of new players progress. Free agents, drafted players, undrafted players and an injured player from 2025 draft.
September 1st, 2026 at 4:02 pm
JimBobBuc Says:
September 1st, 2026 at 2:31 pm
I agree with Joe: âJoe will take talent and skill over leaders any day of the week.â Last year the Bucs had leaders, but the team still choked at the end of the season.
—————————————————————————————–
We also had talent and skill. So, it seems like leadership is more importamt. The teams that beat us last year, Dolphins, Saints, Falcons and some others. Obviously, their leadership overcame our talent due to our lack of leadership.
September 1st, 2026 at 4:12 pm
How about players who don’t need “leaders” to tell them to show up and play?
September 1st, 2026 at 4:24 pm
Lack of a DC.
September 1st, 2026 at 4:46 pm
Player Leadership is very overrated. Half of the players donât even listen to the leaders. Last year was a perfect example of the great leadership effort. Leadership has to
come from the head coach Sorry, but the Bucs lack a coach that displays leadership
September 1st, 2026 at 5:17 pm
Bowles is pathetic.
September 1st, 2026 at 5:18 pm
Yes that photo and those eyes are representative of what has inspired my new-found faith in this defense. All Licht and Bowlesâ coach prattle about leadership lost its credibility during the LVD era that followed the departures of JPP and Suh. There is Nacho in the foreground and Bain in the background, we canât see their eyes in this photo but weâve been seeing them since spring. Locked. The eyes have been louder than the words. Bain brought that.
AâShawn Robinson was a crucial team ambassador for Canales in Carolina and he might be working on reconnecting Bowles with players whose faith he lost last year. He brings more than a violent âtude. Iâm excited to see every player on the roster whose number is in the 90âs jogging out to the huddle this year and I thank Robinson for that.
Anzalone brought edge and energy back to the unit as well but his quote: âItâs about making plays not just playing with energyâ or whatever he said exactly to that effect is fantastic to hear and something Iâll rest on going into the season as a rudder for this brewing hurricane.
I canât blame Vea for negotiating his contract like a big boy by asking for a trade. Especially after Bowlesâ complete failure and retention. I hope part of his contract negotiations included, âI need to see the changes to convince me that I will not be party to anything like what you did to us last year.â Yaya was in Bowlesâ office in January saying something, emerging as a leader.
I was disgusted with Winfield Jr. and what I interpreted as lack of leadership last year when he was ducking out of the locker room post game responsibilities as things were falling apart but there was nothing nice to say, little to be done and most importantly, all that was last season. Itâs washed.
There is no chief of the defense. Iâll be impressed with Trotterâs noises and the noise spoken about him when he shows us he is a three down linebacker. What is impressive and has my foot bouncing in anticipation of the trip to Cincinnati is the looks in these players eyes. I canât wait to see what it is they have their eyes on once the whistle blows to open this season.
September 1st, 2026 at 5:25 pm
âWhat caused the great Bucs collapse of the 2025 season?â
The same guy trying to sell us on improved leadership.
Does he include himself in that measure? I highly doubt it.
Otherwise he would have fired himself by now.
Only Todd is immune from consequences for his actions.
Until heâs gone, weâre a rudderless ship.
September 1st, 2026 at 6:18 pm
For all of you who continually bad-mouth Bowles, it strikes me as interesting that Vea, after most of his demands were met, did nothing but praise Todd Bowles. Totally unsolicited by the way. Vita even went so far as to say that when Todd retires, he will too.
I think back also to all the good words guys like Suh & Shaq had to say about Bowles. At the time they came here, both of them credited HIM as the reason they wanted to come to the Bucs.
Lots of other Bucs over these last several years have had nothing but praise for Bowles. Surely that doesn’t happen in the professional ranks unless the guy knows how to coach and put his players in a position to succeed. But hey, I’m sure that keyboard warriors know so much more than those professional athletes do.
September 1st, 2026 at 6:23 pm
Anybody know when they vote on captains?
September 1st, 2026 at 6:23 pm
Leadership=veteran strong hungry player that can make a difference ON THE FIELD. Remember how much leadership talk there was with Winston, eating W’s, worthless. Lvd was a leader last year.. To be a leader you gotta make plays that help win, not just screaming in the locker room. I heard there was a lot of that last year. You gotta walk the talk or it all collapses. We had zero leaders last year. Can’t lead from the tub or the sidelines either. Go Bucs!
September 1st, 2026 at 6:33 pm
Yeah @DR
Vita basically said he heard some sh$t was being talked and he wanted to set the record straight.
September 1st, 2026 at 6:36 pm
Iâm with DR tired of people bad-mouthing Bowles when all the best players on this team constantly say how much they love him. Heâs a very knowledgeable coach who won us a Super Bowl with a standout defensive performance involving brilliant play calling and demonstrating that he was capable of adapting with the best coaches (minimal blitzing, shifting to playing 3 safeties against Mahomes gave him nothing he expected and made life miserable for him!).
September 1st, 2026 at 6:57 pm
Oh, and DR their weights are never accurate. Aâshawn is probably 350 right along with Vea and Wirfs is 345 right now for instance. All the O-linemen are probably at least 325-330.
September 1st, 2026 at 7:25 pm
The only leader a team needs is a competent HC that keeps the team motivated and focused. We had leaders and we had talented players and as you all pointed out it did us no good because our HC is lacking in far to many areas that a HC is suppose to be sufficient in.
September 1st, 2026 at 8:07 pm
There are players who like walk-through practices and giving very little effort in a game and getting a paycheck.
Then there are the Tom Bradyâs, who like to be coached hard and become the greatest of all time.
I have no doubt Mr. 50% Vita Vea will retire with Bowles.
September 1st, 2026 at 8:24 pm
Whoa! Can Joe make it any easier to get a bunch of comments for an article? You couldn’t tee this one up for the Bowles bashers any better!
September 1st, 2026 at 8:33 pm
Jacob Rodriguez is starting at middle linebacker- Mike linebacker, and will be wearing the green dot on opening day. Bain has more âskill and talentâ than JRod.
Lots of talent and skill out there. Gotta have it. Weâve got Mayfield on the offense. Maybe Godwin. Bredeson some. Those 3 have leasership qualities. On the defense? Hopefully Anzalone has a bunch. Iâm thinking Winfield and maybe Tykee.
Many times the leaders of your team arenât the most talented or have the most skills.
I donât want to say there has to be some brains behind the brawn (Braun?), butâŠ
If I was the GM Iâd be putting leadership qualities way up on the defensive draft board next draft. It really matters.
September 1st, 2026 at 8:45 pm
What caused the great Bucs collapse of the 2025 season?
————
A quarterback who couldn’t hit a simple wide open WR or TE on a 7 yard pass with the game on the line.
Literally.
Just make a throw that I could make, and the Bucs were in the playoffs.
September 2nd, 2026 at 1:08 am
Rod
the Baker apologist will claim his injuries and to Oline.