Todd Bowles Says Buccaneers Have A Lot 'Yet To Be Determined’

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have said time and time again they have no intentions of being anybody's punching bags.

There is no 'tanking for Caleb Williams' or 'wait until next year or maybe even the year after that' according to the Buccaneers.

This year is about continuing what coach Todd Bowles - then the defensive coordinator under Bruce Arians - came here to do in the first place, and that is to compete.

Still, even with that objective in mind, even the head coach has to acknowledge there's a lot we don't know about this year's Bucs squad.

"That's yet to be determined," Bowles said when asked about the strength of his team. "Obviously, you've got to get a lot of kinks out of the way the first couple of games. The trick is to win while you're doing it. We feel like we've got a lot of strengths and until we settle in on what we are in Week 4 or 5, we'll see. We feel like we're great in a lot of areas, but you've got to play the games to be sure."

Tampa Bay is like many teams in the same boat of trying to figure out its identity for the season and having a benchmark set of Week 4 or 5 to figure it out is smart.

The Buccaneers have a bye in Week 5 of the season, meaning the team will play 13 weeks straight, more if they make the playoffs.

Knowing who you are would come in quite handy during that stretch, and help the Bucs prove their doubters wrong.

Like Bowles says, however, getting to know yourself through success is the optimal path to self-discovery. A path blocked in Week 1 by the Minnesota Vikings who have some questions but largely know who they think they are following a 13-win season in 2022.

Their biggest weapon, receiver Justin Jefferson is currently the most known of all the Vikings players.

"Obviously, the first-round pick (Jordan Addison) comes in. He did a lot in college," Bowles said of Minnesota's offense. "We know what he can do...[T.J.] Hockenson - when he got Minnesota - he made a heck of a bunch of catches. They've got two running backs...a third receiver (K.J. Osborn)...It's not just Jefferson."

The good news is Bowles knows who the Vikings are.

Now, if he knows how Tampa Bay is going to upset Minnesota on the road in Week 1, he'll get a lot closer to knowing who the Buccaneers are as well.

Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout Training Camp.

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