2-Point Conversion: The Real Problem With The Bucs Is …

It’s time for Scott Reynolds’ post-game 2-Point Conversion column, which features two big statements, two probing questions and two bold predictions.

The Bucs slid to 4-7 after losing to the Colts in Indianapolis, 27-20. Tampa Bay’s defense allowed 27 points for a second straight game – this time to Indianapolis backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. Despite the loss, the Bucs are only one game out of first place in the NFC South division.

The Bucs return home to Tampa Bay to play the 1-10 Carolina Panthers, who just fired head coach Frank Reich, this Sunday.

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1: The Real Problem With The Bucs Is … Lack Of Accountability

Week after week it’s loss after loss for Todd Bowles’ 2023 Bucs team. After a 3-1 start before the bye, the losing started and has snowballed – despite Bowles saying Monday that it hadn’t snowballed.

Okay, Coach. Losing six of the last seven games isn’t a snowball.

It’s an avalanche.

And week after week it’s mistake after mistake.

The reason the same mistakes keep happening? There is no consequence. And because there is no consequence, there is no accountability.

Accountability isn’t praising [or defending] in public and critiquing in private. That’s just Bowles being a nice guy to his players.

It’s not like Bowles needs to come out and publicly bash his Buccaneers or chide them in press conferences for their mistakes. But when asked by an inquisitive reporter which player screwed up or who was at fault on a particular play, Bowles needs to honestly answer the question.

Bruce Arians never shied away from that, and holding players accountable was one of his greatest strengths. Arians was loved by his players … but also feared by them, too. That’s a healthy dynamic in football as it is a deterrent to complacency.

And these Bucs are way too complacent under Bowles because he doesn’t hold them accountable for their mistakes. Not one Buccaneer has been cut this year and made an example of due to poor performance.

Heck, it took weeks of giving up touchdowns and big plays for Bowles – under public pressure from Pewter Report and others – to finally bench Ryan Neal, or at least greatly reduce his snaps.

And despite two years of inconsistent play – and sometimes downright awful play – from inside linebacker Devin White, he’s never been benched by Bowles. Sure, White has been called out by Bowles in team meetings, but everyone at the facility knows that White is Bowles’ guy.

White knows he can continue to whiff on tackles, blow coverages and play uninspired football without any consequence. And that has a negative effect in the locker room.

Bowles even went so far to delay the voting process for the team captains weeks into the regular season to ensure that White had enough time to make some plays and lead some pre-game speeches to garner enough captain votes. He even said as much on Sept. 6 in a press conference.

“Since everybody wasn’t here in the spring, you want to see how everybody jells together and then you want to wait awhile before you make a decision because the other guys are still getting to know everybody and you want to make a rational decision, so we’re going to wait for a little while,” Bowles said.

Every Bucs player participated in OTAs during the spring except one guy – Devin White.

So when Bowles says that the Bucs keep making mistakes, it’s no surprise why that keeps occurring.

“There shouldn’t be [mistakes],” Bowles said. “It’s things we’ve done every day – every day. We’ve done them right hundreds of times. At a certain point in time, it doesn’t get done.”

STATEMENT 2: Bucs Team Captains Aren’t Being Accountable, Either

It’s not uncommon for a team’s best players to be selected as team captains. That happens in football at nearly every level – from Pop Warner to high school to college to the NFL.

But a team’s best players don’t always make the best leaders. Part of being a good leader is not just leading by example with great play, but demanding great play from others. It’s showing the willingness to hold others accountable.

Not only is head coach Todd Bowles not holding his players accountable, but the team captains aren’t doing enough in that area, either. After Sunday’s 27-20 loss at Indianapolis, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield, who is a team captain, said as much.

“Until everybody gets pissed off enough to get it fixed, there will be no changes,” Mayfield said. “I know where I’m gonna head at the end of this week. I’ll get my job fixed and try to drag as many people along as well.”

Mayfield spent the offseason ingratiating himself into the team and getting to know his teammates. Arriving in Tampa Bay with a modest, one-year, prove-it deal worth just $4 million, Mayfield didn’t have the gravitas to step in the locker room immediately and demand perfection the way Tom Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champion, did in 2020.

With Mayfield being the new kid on the block and not having the security of a long-term deal, it’s understandable if he’s treated his teammates with kid gloves and positive encouragement rather than getting in a teammate’s face and calling out poor play.

But the problem is that the Bucs don’t have that kind of leader in the locker room – that one guy that players don’t want to cross or perhaps fear.

Warren Sapp was that kind of leader during Tampa Bay’s rise to prominence in the 1990s and initial Super Bowl championship run in 2002. He ruled the locker room with an iron fist and demanded accountability in the huddle and on the sidelines.

Legendary Bucs middle linebacker Hardy Nickerson, a five-time Pro Bowler, was that way prior to Sapp’s arrival and while Sapp was growing into his leadership role.

Jason Pierre-Paul was that type of loud, vocal leader with a demanding demeanor on Tampa Bay’s most recent Super Bowl team in 2020. Pierre-Paul didn’t even have to have the “C” on his chest to speak up and lead. The same could be said of Ndamukong Suh, who led with fewer decibels than JPP, but just as intense.

Lavonte David is a nice, keep-your-heads-up kind of guy, who doesn’t like to rock the boat. Vita Vea is a nice guy, who likes to lead with humor. Antoine Winfield Jr. is a nice guy – always smiling. Devin White is a nice guy, whose play has gone downhill the last two years and lacks credibility.

Tristan Wirfs is a nice “aw, shucks” kind of guy, who had to be cajoled into becoming a leader. Mike Evans is a nice guy, who will give the occasional snarl and chooses to lead by example. Chris Godwin is just like Evans – minus the occasional snarl.

There is no prick among those players, and sometimes a team needs a prickish player within its leadership to demand accountability.

That was the case with Sapp among a locker room full of positive leaders like John Lynch, Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott, Brad Johnson and Paul Gruber back in the day. And that was the case with Pierre-Paul and Suh amidst the likes of David, White, Evans, Brady and linebacker Kevin Minter and punter Bradley Pinion more recently in 2020.

Not only does general manager Jason Licht have to find some better players in the coming offseason, he needs to find the next Sapp, Suh or JPP. There are enough nice guys in Tampa Bay already.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1: Will The Bucs Fire Todd Bowles If He Loses To The Panthers?

Good question. I don’t think they will because the Glazers were content to watch Raheem Morris’ Bucs lose 10 straight at the end of his tenure back in 2011 for a better draft pick. Nor did the Glazers fire Greg Schiano until the end of his 2013 season despite a 0-8 start en route to a 4-12 finish for the same reason.

Yet if Todd Bowles and the Bucs somehow lose to the 1-10 Panthers and their new interim head coach on Sunday – Katy bar the door. The Glazers may break from tradition and actually make an in-season firing just to appease an angry pewter mob.

QUESTION 2: How Did ILB SirVocea Dennis Play In His First Start?

I thought rookie inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis played okay in his first career start at Indianapolis. He finished with six tackles and a pass breakup while veteran inside linebacker Devin White notched seven stops.

Perhaps Dennis’ biggest play of the game was his touchdown-saving tackle on a fourth-and-1 play-action pass to Colts tight end Mo-Allie Cox that caught the Bucs defense by surprise. Cox was wide open, but Dennis, who was on the other side of the field and not assigned to the tight end, was alert enough to recognize the play-action pass and tracked Cox down 30 yards later.

“It’s a lot and it’s on the fly, too,” Dennis said of his performance in his first start. “So I’m just out there taking it step-by-step, play-by-play, day-by-day. It’s just a lot to learn. It’s a lot to go through – just out there playing football for real. It’s still the same football.”

Take Pro Football Focus grades with a grain of salt, but Dennis was the fifth-highest Bucs defender on Sunday with a 67.8 overall grade, including a team-high 78.1 coverage grade. White posted a 60.3 overall grade by comparison.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1: The Bucs Will Beat The Panthers

Whew! A loss to the lowly, 1-10 Panthers would be disastrous for head coach Todd Bowles and the Bucs, right? And it would be an embarrassing gut punch for the Tampa Bay fan base, especially the ones who will be rooting on their team at Raymond James Stadium.

But the guess here is that the Bucs pull it out due to sheer talent alone. Tampa Bay is underachieving this year despite having the most talented roster in the NFC South, but Carolina has the worst level of talent in the entire NFL.

PREDICTION 2: Tampa Bay Will Finish Below .500 Again

The Bucs just ran out of time to finish with a winning record. At 4-7, Tampa Bay would have to reel off three straight wins – something it hasn’t done all year – just to get back to .500 this season. The problem is that there are only six games left in the season, and the Bucs have to win five of them to finish with a 9-8 record.

An 8-9 record was good enough to win the NFC South last year, but it seems more like a 9-8 record will be required to win the division this year. Tampa Bay would have to go 4-0 in the division down the stretch, and next week’s game at Atlanta smells like a loss.

Get ready for a head coaching change and a Top 10 draft pick, Pewter People.

Big offseason ahead in Tampa Bay, so stay tuned to Pewter Report – the leader in Bucs offseason coverage.

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