Someday, maybe someday, the national media will understand that Todd Bowles is not such a defensive genius, nor a good head coach, after all.

Consider what happened today in Orchard Park, New York.  Bowles’ defense got shredded yet again.  Not only did his unit give up 44 points, it’s how they did it.  It’s so nice to have defensive linemen covering receivers 30 yards downhill.  I kid you not.  I watched the whole game.  The pass defense has been a liability for years.  So has the lack of a pass rush.  But with Bowles at the helm, it’s the same old story.

You know what else is getting old?  Awful special teams.  How many times did Buffalo return the ball out to midfield or beyond?  Why not just kick it out of the end zone for a touchback at this point?  You’d be giving the opponent the ball at the 35, but that’s 15-20 yards better than what you’re doing right now.

And then, there’s the play-calling.  Now, the Bucs scored 32 points in this game, so what could I possibly be griping about?  I’m upset about going for a 2-poinit conversion too early in the second half.  I’m upset about another critical 3^rd-and-2 pass play, on a day when you rushed for over 200 yards.  I’m upset that, trailing by 5 in the 4^th quarter and facing 4^th and 2, you decide to punt back to Josh Allen, who ended the game with six total touchdowns.

There’s plenty of blame to go around.  Yes, the Bucs have injuries to key players.  But they scored 32 today against Buffalo.  The defense – and special teams – are the bigger problems.  And I’m not optimistic Bowles is going to get them fixed.

Carolina won today.  Tampa Bay’s lead in the division is down to ½ game.

Photo courtesy: Tampa Bay Buccaneers