Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Why the team needs to start over

Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans wearing paper bags mourn a loss Dec. 26, 2004 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Carolina Panthers defeated the Bucs 37 to 20. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans wearing paper bags mourn a loss Dec. 26, 2004 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Carolina Panthers defeated the Bucs 37 to 20. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
2 of 6
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Dare Ogunbowale #44 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jameis Winston #3 celebrate while head coach Bruce Arians is on the sideline against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 29: Dare Ogunbowale #44 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jameis Winston #3 celebrate while head coach Bruce Arians is on the sideline against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)

We so badly want to believe

The odds for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to make the playoffs this year are extremely long to say the least. The issue with this is that the general consensus is that the team is simply a piece or two away from being a playoff caliber team. This is an extremely naïve take considering the team needs around 5-6 new pieces to be relevant, one of which being a new general manager.

Perpetuating this myth that the team is “knocking on the door” so to speak is what is keeping the team in this Purgatory-like state outside of the playoffs that they have lived in since 2007. The Bucs do have some great pieces on their team and a great coach, but the best way to describe the team is “close, but no cigar.”

More from The Pewter Plank

Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, the front office has been anything but realistic both in their expectations for the team and in their draft picks/free agent signings. This problem was highlighted especially in the preseason for the 2019 season.

The Bucs drafted two corners who don’t start, a kicker who has been very hot and very cold at very inopportune times, and a defensive lineman who could not fill the gaps that they needed. The drafting of Matt Gay alone should scream that the Bucs front office is deluded and should raise some serious red flags, especially after the Roberto Aguayo debacle. If the front office is so ill-prepared to evaluate talent in the draft, perhaps their judgment in other areas may also be lacking.

Schedule