Relax, Bucs Fans, Todd Bowles Has This
May 17th, 2025
Mad blitzer waiting to unleash.
Michael Penix gives Joe pause.
The Falcons quarterback sure doesn’t do that for Ben Solak.
The NFL scribe for the four-letter looked at Week 1 games. Why not? Can’t we dream about real football? Week 1 is a little more than three months away.
Solak loves the Bucs offense. He said he’s going to be riding it in his short-term investment strategy this fall. Why? Solak sees the Bucs returning a top-three offense with all starters back and rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka.
How could one not like this offense? Solak says.
And for Bucs fans like Joe who worry a little about Penix, Solak has calming words: Penix ain’t no Kirk Cousins. At least not yet.
… Bowles’ secondary was shredded by Kirk Cousins in last year’s games against the Falcons, but I’d wager Penix is far more easily flustered and confused by Bowles’ chaos-oriented scheme than Cousins was. I’m happy to buy early and low on a Buccaneers team that should prove a legit NFC contender.
It still gives Joe shivers that such an immobile guy like Cousins (Atlanta equipment managers have to wipe the pigeon sh!t off his shoulder pads) torched the Bucs twice in some of the worst defensive displays Joe has ever seen.
It seemed Cousins had Bucs coach Todd Bowles’ blitzes figured out. But Solak doubts Penix will have that mastery and Bowles will treat Penix quite rudely when the Dade City native faces his hometown team for the first time in Week 1.
Wager accordingly, Solak suggests.
#BeatAtlanta
Every Baker Mayfield throw of 20+ air yards from a clean pocket in 2024: pic.twitter.com/FEgXwvZtHj
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) May 16, 2025
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