Trust.
The Bucs are very proud of their desire to uphold their “I Am That Man” theme.
A few years ago, the Bucs decided they were doing it all wrong when drafting players. So they decided to do a deep dive on the players that panned out in the draft.
The conclusion: You pick the right person and the player will often come along. The Bucs deemed Lavonte David as the perfect composite player they look for, off the field as much as on the field.
The Bucs deemed this campaign “I Am That Man.” If you can’t be compared to David the person, the Bucs don’t want you. This, naturally, has kept quite a few talented players away from the Bucs because, while they may be studs on the field, they are borderline dirtbags off the field. Or maybe full-blown dirtbags.
The Bucs wanted guys they could trust. And given the draft success the Bucs have had this decade, how can one argue with this philosophy?
Well, that philosophy is beginning to show for Bucs coach Todd Bowles. Maybe not on the field — Bowles refuses to call any team “special” — but Bowles said off the field his team is very much a special group.
Bowles was asked if he thought this year’s team, the way it has fought through a wild amount of injuries to become the best team in the NFC, has the makings of a “special” unit and if he has a “gut feeling” if the team is special.
> “I have a gut feeling off the field that it’s a special team,” Bowles said. “But football is week to week and you’ve got to go out and prove that, and that’s one week after another week after another week.
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> “You can feel as good as you want and this league will bring you down and make you feel terrible. You can feel terrible and they can bring you up to feel great. That gut feeling has not hit me since I’ve been coaching.
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> “But, week to week, you have a confidence of trusting your guys and knowing they can go out there and do a good job as long as everybody is on the same page.”
Notice Bowles used “trusting” in his evaluation? That’s a big part of the “I Am That Man” movement. If the Bucs don’t think they can trust a draft prospect, they want nothing to do with him.
Seeing how the Bucs were getting production last night from Nos. 6 and 7 receivers, touchdowns even, the Bucs’ mindset approaching player evaluation might be copied soon by other teams.