Bucs’ Todd Bowles in 1st team meeting: ‘It’s got to be the Super Bowl’

TAMPA — At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles addressed his team for the first time to kick off training camp. He immediately lifted expectations for the 2024 season to raising the Lombardi Trophy.

“Evening guys. Guys, like I said earlier, the most in shape team we’ve had in a long time,” Bowles said. “The expectations for us shouldn’t just be the division. It’s got to be the Super Bowl. We’ve won the division the last two years. We saw how good we were last year. We can’t take any of it with us. Our expectations have got to be how we can be great and, positionally, I’ll go over it for you.”

Bowles went around the room position by position, summarizing what needed to get done and how to do it.

Offensive line

“It’s the most continuity we’ve had since the Super Bowl,” Bowles said of a unit that returns four starters if you include center Robert Hainsey. “We’ve still got to work some kinks out, but the only way you guys can be great is to work with each other. You work with each other, we’re not going to get out-toughed by anybody. We don’t want to miss blocks, make them make a great play. We’ve got size, athleticism, you’ve got toughness, and you’ve got intelligence. There’s no reason for us to fail there.”

Quarterback

“‘Bake,’ you run the show. It’s your team,” Bowles said, eyes fixed on Baker Mayfield. “You get to be the eyes and ears of (offensive coordinator) Liam (Coen). You get to check. You’ve got athletes everywhere. Give them the ball and let them go. That’s what they get paid for. Give them the ball and let them go.

“Make the smart decisions. Get us in the right set, and we can go.”

Running backs

“Make the yards they give you. Take the yards they don’t,” Bowles said, directing his comments to Rachaad White. “Take care of the football. You got to be a jack of all trades. You’ve got to run. You’ve got to catch. You’ve got to block.’’

Receivers

“We’ve got a hell of a five receivers. You’re going to be open. You’re going to be open, right? You’ve got to know, but you’ve got to block, too.”

Tight ends

“Some of you’ve got bigger guys to block. Defensive ends. Some are even bigger outside ‘backers. Positioning is going to be everything. Get attached, and don’t get thrown off. If you get thrown off, make sure the hole is where you need it to be. We’ve got to be smart.”

Defensive line

“D-line. Probably the most athletic we’ve been. And defensively as a whole, it’s probably the fastest we’ve been in years. Probably the fastest. It’s hard to say who’s the slowest guy. It ain’t (defensive lineman) Vita (Vea). I’ll give you the name (Wednesday), but it ain’t Vita, I can tell you that much.

“There should be 11 guys in the frame every time going to the football. If we get outside runs, screens, anything like that? We should be A to B right now. We’ve got to read our keys, all that taken care of. I understand that. We’ve got to read our keys.”

Bowles emphasized the need to create turnovers.

“Corners. Safeties, ‘backers, even outside ‘backers: Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers,” he said. “Sacks ain’t good enough. You’ve got to sack them and get the ball out. Sack them and get the ball out. We’ve got to defend every blade of grass.”

Special teams

“Two things that we cannot do: put the ball on the ground and get a punt blocked. That’s my No. 1 pet peeve: put the ball on the ground and get a punt blocked. And the second thing or the third thing, we can’t let a ball get run back on us. If we can take care of those three things, we can be good in the kicking game and we’ll get a return of our own.”

Roster

Bowles reminded his players the roster has not yet been selected and explained his evaluation process.

“Now, we’re not the Tampa Bay Bucs yet,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in this room. Lot of competition. A lot of competition. Almost every spot. Again, I’ve said this in the past, it’s not the best 53; it’s the right 53. You’ve got to fit what we’re trying to do. You’ve got to earn your keep as a starter, as a backup, as a practice-squad guy. Even if you’re injured, you’ve got to earn your spot. We see what we see. As coaches, we make decisions on what you show us. Our jobs can be hard, or they can be easy as hell. They can be easy as hell. Injuries happen, unfortunately, but be where you’re supposed to be, guys. We’ll treat you like men. It’s a hell of a a set-up. You can go anywhere in the league and you won’t get a set-up like this, but you’ve got to carry your own weight, right?”

Schedule

Bowles mentioned the daunting schedule the Bucs play, which includes four division champions and both Super Bowl teams.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but what we expect from ourselves, we don’t want a lot of up and down,” he said. “We play a lot of great teams this year.

“Every team we play, we play all the championship teams. All four of them. We play the Super Bowl teams. That’s great for us, because we want to be great. You can’t get to the playoffs without being great, so our expectations have to be high. So, no matter who we play, we’ve got to play against ourselves, guys. The only way you can be great is to play for that guy next to you and talk to the guy next to you. If you communicate with him, it’s 11 on 11. (Receiver) Mike (Evans) can’t make a deep-ball catch if we can’t block for the quarterback. Everybody has got to carry out their assignment. Everybody is not going to be a star on every play, but everybody can contribute and get an assist. And that comes from selflessness. You’re selfish when you’re out there by yourself. You’re selfless when you take somebody with you. Take somebody with you every day.”

Practices

Bowles cautioned players about the grind of training camp, the need to remain hydrated and that everything is about to get harder.

“We’ve got to do a hell of a job as coaches getting you in the right spot,” he said. “We don’t do everything right. We’re going to make a mistake, as will you. It’s that we learn from it, we grow from it and we move on. That’s how we’re going to win some ballgames. We’ve been in some hostile environments. We will this year. And there will be some people coming here. First game we’ve got is here at 4:25 (p.m., Sept. 8 vs. Washington). We haven’t had one of those in a long time. It’s going to be hot. The mental toughness. You’re fighting all positions, you’re fighting the weather, and then you’ve got to stay healthy and take care of yourself. That’s No. 1. And by the end of this camp, we should be jelling right to where we need to be. We’re not going to start over from OTAs and minicamp. We should have some carryover, right? We’ll go back to basic, but there should be carryover mentally. When we’re doing the install, we should be pretty sharp coming out there (Wednesday) and not going back to the building blocks. Now, as we go forward, everybody is going to get reps. Things will get harder, the weather is going to be hot. Make sure you hydrate, take care of yourself. Weigh in … Get stretched out.”

Expectations

Bowles concluded by reiterating that he believes the Bucs have the ability to play in the Super Bowl this season.

“We’ve got a long journey,” he said. “But I have no doubt, if we do everything we’re supposed to do, we’ll be in contention for a Super Bowl. But that’s a long way away. It’s a building block to get to that, guys. You’ve got to believe that. You’ve got to show up. I don’t want anybody trying to make the team. To make the team means you’re just trying to get over. I’d rather cut you and have somebody that’s busting their ass than for you to just make the team. You’ve got to want to be something on this team, and that’s what I’m looking for. If we can get that done, we’re going to have a hell of a team. We’re off to a good start. We’ve just got to get started (Wednesday).

“Break it up.”