Takeaways obsession.
You’ve heard all offseason how Todd Bowles emphasizes the Bucs need more interceptions.
Last year the Bucs had seven interceptions in the regular season. This really has Bowles irked. So much so that at times, Joe thinks Bowles is channeling lousy Lovie Smith.
Lovie didn’t seem to give a damn what his defense did so long as they got a takeaway. Meanwhile, his defense regularly was getting dragged up and down the field to the point they were cashed by the fourth quarter.
After Saturday night’s second worthless preseason game of the summer in Pittsburgh, the Bucs led the NFL in preseason picks with six through two games. Zyon McCollum had one of Saturda’s three Bucs picks.
McCollum told Joe in the locker room how seriously Bowles has emphasized players becoming [ballhawks](https://www.joebucsfan.com/2025/02/i-want-ballhawks/) this summer.
> “It comes up every day,” McCollum said. “We’ll have meetings about takeaways, just specifically that you focus on takeaways.”
Yes, you read that right. Bowles has regular defensive meetings where the only thing discussed is takeaways. Not tackling. Not sacks. Not plugging gaps. Just takeaways and nothing else discussed.
That’s bordering on obsession.