Gerald McCoy isn’t sugarcoating what he’s seeing from the Buccaneers.
The former Tampa Bay defensive tackle, still very much plugged into the franchise as a fan and now a regular in football media, went on ESPN’s This is Football and called the Bucs the NFL’s most disappointing team through three weeks. With Tampa Bay sitting at 0-3, McCoy said the problems he’s seeing go beyond a bad stretch - they point straight at the coaching.
“I know for sure there’s things that are being coached that I wouldn’t coach. Everybody coaches different. I heard some things that are being taught to these guys and I say 'that's not going to work.," McCoy said.
One of his biggest concerns is the way the Buccaneers are using their pass rushers. McCoy said it helps explain why the team has struggled to get pressure, and he pointed directly to Rueben Bain’s usage.
“You drafted him to generate a pass rush. A lot of people thought he was a steal.
You haven’t even established him as what he does best. And he’s doing all this dropping [into coverage].”
He also questioned why David Walker isn’t on the field more often. Walker, who had a strong offseason and already has two sacks this season, drew praise from McCoy as the team’s best pure edge threat.
“Walker, he’s the best pass rusher we got, and he barely plays. I don’t know why he barely plays…Things of that sort and how these guys are being coached, I feel like is a detriment to them.”
McCoy did make a point to separate his criticism of the staff from the people on it, saying his issue was with how the players are being coached. But his overall message was hard to miss: he sees real problems in the way Tampa Bay is being run.
And he didn’t stop with the defense. McCoy said the offense has looked out of sync, too.
“The most surprising thing is how off Baker and this offense looks. Zac Robinson - I thought he was going to put together something.
It’s just not looking good and our O-line man, golly. It just doesn’t look good.”
For a former Bucs great who still cares deeply about the team, the criticism landed with extra force. McCoy is seeing the same issues plenty of fans are seeing, and he’s putting the blame squarely on how this team is being coached.
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