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There’s a bug buzzing around the locker room at One Buc Palace. And Joe suspects the bug wasn’t someone leaving the back door open for Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to crawl in.
Though Bucs coach Todd Bowles didn’t say it was a flu bug, the rest of his words point to a flu bug. It’s not just players going down, but coaches too.
The Bucs had a walk-through today (NFL allows teams to have 14 total padded practices per regular season, 11 padded practices are allowed through the first 11 weeks and three more the rest of the regular season). While this isn’t really news for Joe, when Bowles was asked about padded practices today, he mentioned one reason he did not have a padded practice is that a bunch of players and coaches are sick.
> “Unfortunately, this Wednesday, a lot of people have taken ill – there is a bug going around the building,” Bowles said. “We had about five coaches and about 15 players down, so that helped aid in this walkthrough.
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> “There’s nothing we can really do about that today.”
So this Sunday is shaking out to be a grim prospect for the Bucs. Let’s review:
\* The Bucs are playing a primetime game. Bad. \* The Bucs will face arguably the best team in the NFC. Bad. \* The Bucs are playing a team coached by Sean McVay, who regularly picks apart a Todd Bowles defense. Bad. \* The hottest quarterback in the NFL will start for the Rams, Matt Stafford. Bad. \* The game is on the West Coast. Bad. \* The Bucs defense has been horrid since the bye, the past two games. Bad.
\* The Bucs are dealing with a flu bug ravaging the locker room. Bad.
Might Joe suggest Bucs fans have some top-shelf liquor on hand Sunday night? It’s easier to bound back the next morning after guzzling high-end hooch than the rotgut.