There is a saying in Tampa Bay when the Bucs implode on themselves. “Bucs beating the Bucs,” is what they call it and it sums up the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season to a T.
Injuries have certainly played their part in derailing what looked to be a promising season but mental errors and lack of execution share most of the blame. And that blame isn’t limited to the players. The coaching staff needs to take a good look in the mirror as well after a historic collapse in the second half of the season.
Despite all of the Bucs shortcomings over the last seven weeks, where the team managed just one win, they are still in control of their playoff destiny. At 7-8, all the Buccaneers need to do is win their final two games against the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers and they’re in with their fifth straight NFC South title.
If the Bucs are going to come out of their losing slump to win the division they’ll need to take care of a bigger opponent than the Dolphins and Panthers, themselves. Right now, Tampa Bay is its own worst enemy, sabotaging their path to the playoffs with mental errors and lack of execution.
“We understand we control our own destiny, but our biggest enemy right now is us and we understand that as well,” Bowles said. “So, going into the week, that's all we'll focus on and we'll focus on the things that we can do better as coaches and players, and we'll go into the game against Miami.”
Focusing on the little things has been the priority for weeks, however, results have yet to come to fruition. Buccaneers center Graham Barton said after the Bucs loss to Carolina that “they play better when they’re playing free,” possibly indicating that there have been times where the offense has been too structured. Bowles pushed back, saying that the players play best when they’re executing and that players grasp at different things when losing.
“We play best when we're executing,” Bowles said. “There's nothing wrong with our mental state. We’ve got to execute and finish plays at the end. It’s football – it's a game we've been playing since we were small children and we've grown up now to play professional ball…When you lose, you try to come up with different things and everything else like that, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to work hard and execute.”
The Bucs coaches need to put together the gameplay of the life for Sunday's matchup in Miami. Although, ultimately it will come down to the players to limit their mental mistakes and execute in critical moments. If they can find the killer instinct they’ve been lacking since earlier this season and defeat the enemy that is themselves, the the Buccaneers might have a shot at salvaging their season.