Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a new coach but the same problem

With the success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the past two seasons, fans have a tendency to forget the shortfalls and weaknesses the team has experienced during that same time period.

The success coupled with the big headlines about Tom Brady and other stars has shrouded out some glaring issues the team has failed to address last offseason or this one for that matter.

Unfortunately, the largest issue the team has had was not fixed, but instead promoted.

That issue is Todd Bowles. While many have lauded him for his defenses the past few years, anyone who actually looks at the games and stats would come away with a different opinion.

Bowles has hidden his inability to adapt to different situations behind his dominant rushing defense, which has been admittedly great. Regardless of the team the Bucs are facing, Bowles continues to run the same pass defenses, which amounts to trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

The issue is that the NFL is less and less focused on running the ball and putting all your defensive stock in run prevention as a tactic that hasn’t and will continue to not pay dividends as the NFL evolves.

There is a reason that every QB from Pro Bowlers to rookies had career days against the Buccaneer defense last year, and it’s not because of lack of talent.

While not stocked with top players, the Bucs still possess some talent in their defensive secondary, and Bowles needs to find a way to get more out of them.

Considering that Bowles is the head coach now, there is absolutely no excuses if the defensive secondary continues to be the Achilles Heel of the team. With no major offseason acquisitions on the defensive side of the ball, Bowles seems to not think it’s needed and for the sake of Bucs fans this season, they should hope he’s correct.

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