Todd Bowles Recapping the 2023 Season, 'Very Proud' | Bucs Total Access

Team Reporter Casey Phillips is joined by Head Coach Todd Bowles & Assistant General Manager John Spytek on the weekly radio show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Don't do.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Buccaneers Total Access with head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hey, that's the hell of a dob coming down here
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Where's step prop called ash, hotball, touchouts, heavy bay bikevins
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Fire the Canada.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Now you're host Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips and head
coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 4 (00:41):
Welcome into Buccaneers Total Access. We are joined by head
coach Todd Bowles. Coach. You know, not bad for a
team people.

Speaker 5 (00:48):
Picked thirty first and eighty million in dead cat money.
I know that after a loss like this, when the
season ends, it's got to feel sad in a lot
of ways. But how do you evaluate the year as
a whole.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Looking back now, I thought the guys were very tough
and got mentally tough as the season went on. We
had our ups and downs in some adversity, but the
way we fought through it together, I really thought, and
really I was very proud of those guys. The way
the coaches stuck to their jobs and made them accountable,
held them, had attention to detail with everything, and the

(01:21):
way they came out on the other side. Very proud
of them for that.

Speaker 5 (01:24):
Yeah, it felt like this game in so many ways
was a bit of a metaphor for the season where
even when you guys were down, you definitely were not out.
The way that the team fought, especially towards the end,
to stay in it. What do you feel like is
the key to building a team like that? How do you,
guys as coaches try to make that happen? Is it
about you guys as coaches, the players? A combination of that.
What creates an atmosphere like that?

Speaker 1 (01:45):
It's a combination of all the above. It's really the culture.
It starts in training camp as far as those guys
getting to know each other. The coach is setting the
tone in the building, the chemistry that you try and
create with the bond. The football part and the teaching
is the easy part. That's the fundamental and the technique
stuff is just football. But the bond that you have
to create when those guys come in, and you have

(02:07):
to do it every year, regardless of whether you have
the same team or different guys coming in, because every
year is different. So the bond they created and the
closeness they felt, it felt like a college team this
year in terms of how they got along as opposed
to in the past you have more veteran guys and
everybody goes off by themselves. It was more of a
close knit unit this year.

Speaker 5 (02:27):
And I know that you brought in coach Canalis for
this first year. Now looking back over this season, what
did you really like about him as a coordinator and
a part of your staff.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
The way he grew during the season, The way the
offense meshed together and came out the second half of
the season and finished up the season. We made great
strides from struggling to run the football about the second
half of the season as about averaging about one hundred
yards per game, still getting Mike and Chris involved and
getting those guys in the football, bringing out Rashot into

(02:56):
what he can do, and starting four new guys on
the offensive line at five, a different quarterback and a
lot of new guys out there. He did a heck
of a job.

Speaker 5 (03:05):
I know he gave one press conference in particular this
year where he really gave you a lot of credit
for giving him a chance and how much it meant
to him trying to, as he put it, prove you
right in taking a chance on him. What is it
like to be in a position as a head coach
now to be the one giving people chances when I'm
sure you remember what that was like when you were
starting your career, I must be.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Getting a hold as a coach. It's our job in
this league to try and develop coaches. You don't just
hire coaches and then let them do their job. You
try to develop them and becoming the best they can
be and see things. And that's everybody on the staff.
I mean, Tom Moore helps me, Kevin Ross helps me,
Casey Rogers helps me, Goodie helps me. All those guys

(03:46):
help me become a better coach. It's only right if
you want to have a good staff, you got to
continue to develop coaches. They're not going to come in
ready set, go polished. You have to constantly grow and
grow and grow together. I've learned a lot of things
from Dave as well, but we've helped each other.

Speaker 5 (04:01):
In this game in particular, Rashad ended up averaging six
point one yards of carry and fifty five rushing yards
after only having twenty six the last time you guys
played the Lions and started out with some big games
to eight point three yards per carry in the first quarter,
which is his second highest mark through a first quarter
of any game in his career. What did he do well,
particularly in this Lions game.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
The line did a heck of a job block and
Rashad was hitting the hole down hill. Again, they were
saying the hole before he got the ball. That was
very important. He ran very tough. He got some tough
yards in there.

Speaker 5 (04:33):
And you did bring up earlier just how much you
saw the line, Rashad, the scheme, everything grow when it
came to the run game this season. What were some
of the specific things that helped make that happen in
terms of how Rashad was running and the scheme itself
and what the offensive line was doing.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Rashod, it was just experience, you know, learned a new offense,
being in the second year, just maturing as a football player,
understand the mental part of the game and knowing which
runs he can hit and which runs he can instead
of on and seeing the hole before it happens. Helped
them become a better runner. At the offensive line. That
was just yelling together and cutting back on a few
things and seeing the things all the same way and

(05:10):
getting a hat on the hat. And those guys got
more confident as the year went on and they grew together,
and that kind of messed the running game to get better.

Speaker 5 (05:17):
Baker ended up with five postseason passing touchdowns, which is
tied for the second most enfranchised history.

Speaker 4 (05:23):
Both of the games this year, he.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
Had at least three passing touchdowns, which ties Brady for
the most games like that in team history, and now
has the only two three hundred yard three touchdown passing
games in Bucks playoff history. What did you see from
him specifically in these playoff games and in these big moments.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
He wasn't afraid of a moment. I mean, he's been
in big games before college, high school. He wasn't afraid
of a moment. Came out slinging. Obviously you don't like
the two turnovers, but he gave us a chance to win.
He had a heck of a year. He's a heck
of a leader. And he did a great job for
us all season long.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
Take us through those interceptions and what you saw in
those plays.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
The last one backer made a great play. He fell
back in there. We were trying to go down the
field potentially get the touchdown and hopefully a two point conversion.
He made a heck of a play. He made a
heck of a play on the ball. The first one
probably tried to force it and they kind of got
bounced up in the air and bounced around, and he
recovered from that and he gave us a shot at
the end. We just we just made too many mistakes

(06:19):
to pull it out.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
We saw him get a fourteen yard scramble, which is
actually the longest postseason run by a quarterback in team history.
We saw him allude a sack to hit KD for
that incredible sideline catch. Just his ability to extend plays
and improvise and the effort and the grit. We see,
what did that add to this offense and bring to
the team.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
Oh, scrambling, it's great. I mean, we love the way
he runs the four that he runs that fourteen yard
scrambling to four to two, which makes him the fastest
quarterback to run that he does a good job of
knowing when to run. He doesn't always do a good
job of winning to get down, but he does a
good job of win to run. And he's tough that way,
and he'll pick his moments. He's not just a run

(07:02):
or the run. He runs at certain times and knows
he can get it and he has a good feel
for that. And you can't teach that.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
Sometimes.

Speaker 5 (07:09):
I think we use the word culture a lot and
it can get thrown around. But in your mind, as
you look at people talked about, oh, Brady brought such
and such culture to this offense. As you look at
Baker and coach Canalis as the two biggest new additions
to the offense, what did you see is their impact
on that culture that the offense had.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
With Baker, he just came in. He was himself, you know,
he didn't try to be anybody else. He didn't try
to emulate things that have been done in the past.
He came in, he put his head down, he worked,
He got to know the guys personally, which was a
big hit, and he ate with the guy's weekly offense
and defense. And Dave, it was just the positivity, the

(07:50):
teaching of the how why, what, where, How we're going
to do it. This is how we're going to do it.
This is why we're going to do it. This is
the fundamental part of it, this is the technique part
of it. And he brought him through the steady process
of learning how to do it before they actually had
to do it. Instead, you know, there's a lot of
coaches that just can say, here's the book, this is

(08:11):
how we're doing to go out and do it, and
then when you do it wrong, they tell you do
it wrong. But they was step by step fundamentally sound.
He's a great teacher. He's a very positive person, and
he bought a lot of energy for us.

Speaker 4 (08:23):
We're talking to head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 5 (08:25):
We talked a little bit about the offensive line in
the run game for this game and the season. How
about pass protection for both this game and the season.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Overall, they got some sacks on so we missed a
couple of safeties coming off the corner one time we
fell down. I think two times we missed them, but overall,
I was pleased. And we had some games where we
gave up more than we wanted to, but overall, you know,
some of them were coverage sacks, and that's a good thing.
The offensive line, Tomes Baker got hit most of the time.

(08:51):
He was scrambling and running, so we held up pretty
well in protection. I thought overall, the offensive line did
a pretty the good job.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
Evans.

Speaker 5 (09:00):
We saw a couple drops, but also I mean ended
up with one hundred and forty seven yards, receiving his
fourth career one hundred yard game in the postseason and
a new postseason career high in yards.

Speaker 4 (09:10):
What stood out to you about his game competitiveness?

Speaker 1 (09:14):
You know, Mike competes. You know, he shows up. If
you're going to single him, he's gonna make us catches regardless.
So you've got to double him NonStop and try to
take him away. And even then it's gonna be a
tough task. He's done it all year, He's done it
in the playoff game. He continues to be the same
guy all the time. He's a model of consistency and
great players do that.

Speaker 5 (09:34):
Take us through his those back to back plays of
twenty seven and thirty one yards down in the one
yard line.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
He had to have it, We had to have it.
Mike came through big for us. When you single them,
that ball's gonna go over there, and he's ready for it.
He understands it. He in his mind, he's always open
and I have to agree with him. And he got
it done.

Speaker 5 (09:54):
Chris Godwin surpassed Keishawn Johnson and work Done for the
fourth most playoff yards from scrimmage in franchise history. Also
surpassed Keishaan for the second most playoff receiving yards in
franchise history. What stands out to you about him this
year and what his role in the offense ended up
looking like.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
You know, Chris has been a joy for me to
coach this year because you know, I've finally been around
the offense guys enough to where they start talking. I
didn't know he talked as much mess as he does.
He really does that. It's fun to hear and it's
great to hear. He talks like a defensive player. But
you think he's so quiet and he's so meticulous that

(10:32):
everything he does, and he's very detailed at everything he does,
and he's very tough and he's a competitor and the
worst way, and I love that about him.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
It's awesome.

Speaker 5 (10:42):
And then Kate Aughton Man, he did it with sixty
five yards there was something that I feel like we
should just call the Kate Auton drive. At the end
of the third quarter, Street three straight completions to him,
and he also had his touchdown in the second quarter.
What stood out to you about him and what he
did well just consistency.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
He's done it all ye We's talked about it every week.
He probably wouldn't know him if he passed him in
the grocery store, but when he lines up to play,
his toughness comes up. His intensity in the ballgame comes out,
His mental toughness and understanding of where to be at
all times comes out, and he's a heck of a
football player.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
Take us through his touchdown in the second quarter.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
It was easy, I mean it was easy. It was
really pitching catch. Kade's been like that all year. He's
had some key touchdowns for us all year long. And
when you're paying so much attention to Mike and Chris,
Kate always finds the spot.

Speaker 5 (11:34):
And then what is his potential and roll in the
offense moving forward next year? The ways that you've seen
him grow from rookie year to second year and having
to be the guy in the tight end room, especially
as young as that, that room was and where you
hope to see Kate moving forward.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
Just even more catches. I think he can spread out,
he can do a lot more things. He's a better
route runner than everybody thinks. He's very he's not a speechter,
but he's very elusive and he's very much diculous in
his route running. He has a good catch radius, he's
precise of where he needs to be, and he's always
going to be reliable when you throw the ball to him.
So I just see him getting better and better.

Speaker 5 (12:10):
I know, Chase McLaughlin, we finally saw him miss his
first kick that wasn't blocked of the entire season. Knowing that,
I know he'd love to have that one back, But
looking at his year overall, what did he come to
mean to this team?

Speaker 1 (12:22):
He was a huge weapon. You know, in the past
we couldn't kick him that far, but he was money
from fifty plus yards. It was almost automatic once we
got across midfield. If we didn't get a touchdown, we
had a field go going in. I know he missed
that one, but he was a very big weapon for
us this year, and it was so unassuming because he
just every time he went out there, he pretty much
made him, so when he missed one, you were kind

(12:44):
of shocked about it. But Chase was huge for us
this year.

Speaker 5 (12:48):
And then Jake Marta launched a sixty six yard punt,
the longest postseason punt of his career and marked the
longest post season punt in franchise history. He just I
feel like every time we talk about him, there's something
like that of the longest punch and all these different circumstances.

Speaker 4 (13:04):
What are the biggest things that you saw.

Speaker 5 (13:05):
From him this year and then the things that you
still would hope to be working.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
On with him to work on. Obviously his directional punting,
he can still work on that a little bit, but
we need him the booming and take off. He puts
it out there and he changes the field position for us.
We got to get him involved a little more because
he's a heck of an athlete and he can throw
the football, So we got to work on some things
that way that can help us do some fakes and
that type of thing. But Jake is a huge weapon

(13:30):
for us. Him and Chase. It gave us a one
to two punts this year that really changed ball games
for us.

Speaker 5 (13:36):
And looking at your defense, Lavonte thirteen tackles, a sack,
tackles for loss, QB hit this game all the different categories.
kJ Britt career high twelve tackles tackles for loss. What'
stood out to you about your inside backers?

Speaker 1 (13:50):
Vante is a gamer. He's a gamer. He knows playoff football.
You know, we talked about it. His first eight years,
he didn't go at all. The last four years he
went every year and he's very grateful every time he
steps on the field. Now, he plays like he's still
a rookie. But I understand where he's at with his
time left in the ball game. But I think he
can leave whenever he wants to. But he is just

(14:12):
one heck of a football player. And kJ is just
coming into his own. I think you're just seeing the
immersions of what he can do. And you know, he's
a fairly young linebacker that had to wait his turn,
and you're starting to see the things he can do now.

Speaker 5 (14:26):
And then what did kJ do to convince you that
he had earned being out there more? What were the
things you'd seen from him in practice, in locker room
and leadership and everything that said, Hey, this is a
guy that's ready for this kind of a playoff moment.

Speaker 1 (14:38):
He's been a good leader. You know, a lot of
games match up for kJ, especially the ones inside the tackles.
They match up for him very well coming downhill, and
the more we kept looking at him, the more he
was cleaning stuff up in there, and he was doing
things that other guys couldn't do as well at the time.
And kJ just he made his mark, He earned his
playing time. He became a hell a valuable piece for us,

(15:01):
and we look forward to them going forward.

Speaker 5 (15:03):
How about to play of your outside linebackers, both in
this game and then the season overall?

Speaker 4 (15:07):
What stands out?

Speaker 1 (15:08):
I thought they got better as the season went on.
I think we can still get more pressure on the
quarterback that way, but from an athletic standpoint and a
run standpoint and those guys working together, I thought we
had four or five and sometimes six guys that can
go in there and make some plays for us. Individually.
You may not see the stats, but as an accumulation,
I thought all those guys contributed and got their sack

(15:30):
totals up in a big way. Obviously, Yah Yah came
on at the end or at the middle of the
season and played well for us. Shaq played hard. His
numbers didn't show, but he had a lot of pressures.
Joe started off the season slow, but he picked it
up in the middle and came on at the end.
Nelson does what Nelson always does. And you saw Watts

(15:51):
flash and you saw some of the cam flash. So
the upside for those guys are you know, are pretty good?

Speaker 5 (15:57):
I know we saw Jamal almost pick one off in
the end zone, which I'm sure he heard about from you.
Knocked another way in the end zone and has recorded
at least one pass defense in six of his nine
career postseason games. Tell us about what you saw from
him in this game and in the season overall.

Speaker 1 (16:13):
So when he came back from injury, he tackled well,
especially the last couple weeks in the season. He covered
well in that game before he got hurt. Obviously, the
drop pick, you can't get those back, and we try
to work on them. But he needs a jugs machine
in his bedroom year round for him to make those plays.
But he's very supposed to be and catching the ball again,

(16:33):
we could lead the league in turnovers if we just
catched the football, which I.

Speaker 5 (16:36):
Was going to ask, how you felt about I know
what you had some specific goals for turnovers for the
season overall. What was that and how did you feel
about that aspect of the defense.

Speaker 1 (16:45):
We wanted to finish with about thirty. I think we
finished in the top ten, maybe number six, but I
think we had like twenty four. We can get more.
You can't get enough turnovers. We've got to get as
many turnovers as it takes to win the ball game
every week, regardless of what your playing.

Speaker 5 (16:58):
And so outside of Jamal, we know we saw Zion
McCollum come on and have a big year, Carlton and
even you know, undrafted rookie Christianizi. And how did you
feel about your corner unit as a whole this year?

Speaker 1 (17:09):
It was spotty because they were all hurt at different times.
He very rarely saw them on the field at the
same time. But when they got together toward the end
of the year, you can see things starting to click.
Just got to keep them healthy.

Speaker 5 (17:20):
And how about Antoine, We know we talked about just
what a season he had. What did you end up
seeing from him in the playoffs and just overall as
you look back on the course of what he accomplished
this year, what stands.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
Out in my opinion, he should be up for Defensive
Player of the Year. I don't know if he wins it,
but he should at least get recognition for it. Obviously,
he had a year to remember. Unbelievable. You can't show
a defensive highlight really from us without showing Winfield the
plays he made down on the gold line, knocking the
ball out twice this year, the interceptions he made, the

(17:50):
sacks he's made, the cause fumbles He's made, play after
play after play after play after play. He had a
year to remember. I hadn't seen it heavy year like
that in a long time.

Speaker 5 (18:02):
And how about your defensive line, both in run stoppage
and then you know, seeing Vida still getting a fair
amount of sacks, watching Collidja end up with so many
sacks and tackles for loss.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
What did that group do well this year?

Speaker 1 (18:13):
I thought they came into their own. I really thought
Logan Hall made a big jump in the run game.
He can make a bigger jump in the pass game,
and I think he will next year. Collijah, once he
got the system down and recognize what he could and
couldn't do, he's becoming a real force. You're going to
really see him take off next year. And Vita does
what Vita always does. He commands double teams. He still

(18:33):
makes plays, And thought the guys behind him. Gains made
some good plays for us. Goalston made some good plays
for us. Between Pat and Mike Green and all those
guys playing, I thought they started coming together as a group.
And once you got you know, with Chancy being a
rookie and Logan being the second year, got the maturity
that they got during the season can only help him

(18:54):
going forward.

Speaker 5 (18:55):
And so now as we enter the offense the offseason,
what are your biggest priorities things you want to see
this team growing and you for coaching and the rest
of your staff, what do you feel like are going
to be the biggest priorities.

Speaker 1 (19:08):
Ibaly see you want to add some pieces. It's a
little early right now, still evaluating some things. Out of
the biggest priorities. Coaching wises is for us to get
better schematically. You can never stay the same because somebody
catches up with you. We got to make sure we
put the players in the right place so the pieces
fit what we're trying to do, or we fit what
they can do, and not try to be egotistical that

(19:30):
way and make sure we can mend that thing while
we incorporate new pieces and get them better and make
them jail going forward.

Speaker 5 (19:37):
Well, Coach, thank you as always for your time, Thanks
for sitting with us every week here all season, and
thanks for a fun season.

Speaker 4 (19:42):
As a Bucks fan, I appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (19:44):
Case Thank you.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
Coming up next on Buccaneers Total Access, we will have
Assistant general Manager John Spytech. Brought to you by Advent Health.

Speaker 6 (19:50):
This is Buccaneers Radio Buccaneers Total Access rock you by
Advan Health.

Speaker 7 (19:55):
Pressure Coming up the gun Prescott goes Dowly Sack for
the first time, the Kevin White Fine Packer Blitz.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Now more with head coach Todd Bowles and Bucks team
reporter Casey Phillips.

Speaker 4 (20:08):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access.

Speaker 5 (20:10):
First half of the show we had head coach Todd
Bowles and now I'm so excited to have with us
assistant general manager John Spytech.

Speaker 4 (20:16):
John, thanks for being with us.

Speaker 7 (20:17):
Thanks Casey. It's great to be here. I wish it
was under different circumstances, but we all lot to be
proud of here still too, and certainly it was a
fun season in a lot of ways.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
Yeah, I feel like that was exactly how I felt
and how I was going to lead into it. Of
where it's always like a grim day after the season ends,
right that unless you won the super Bowl, everyone's a
little bummed. But man, I just feel like the season overall,
I feel such positive vibes about it, of like, you know,
overcoming expectations that outside people had. And maybe I'm sure
you guys had higher ones than the outside people, but

(20:45):
to me, when you have that much dead cap space,
this just feels.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
Like such a winning season. Is that how you guys
look at it?

Speaker 1 (20:51):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (20:52):
I mean I think internally we were much more optimistic
about our chances than the general public was. And you know,
we know the team, We know the guys that we
had here. We had a lot of guys left that
we're still on that super Bowl team from twenty twenty season.
You know, those guys are winners, and we knew that
they would carry us a long way. We had a
lot of belief in Baker. He'd played a lot of
good football in his career that we watched, you know,

(21:13):
and so just because we were the only team that
was interested in him didn't mean he couldn't play football,
and I think he certainly proved that this year. You know,
it's a sad day because it just ends so fast.
I think that's what people talk about all the time,
is like, you know this it's this race, and you're
in it for since you know July, and you have
so many expectations, and you get to that game and
you feel like you can win that game and then
just bam, it's over. And I also think that that's

(21:35):
kind of what makes our game great, right It's not
the seven game series where it's like we can afford
a bad performance or you know, recover from him, like
you get one chance. And you know this team, you
know from the twenty twenty three season was great. It'll
never it'll look different this year. So it really is
you know, there's a finality to it. That's tough. But
you know, in the coming days, weeks, months, you know,
we'll we'll recognize that we have a lot to be

(21:56):
proud of here and hopefully, you know, set ourselves up
for a lot of success in the future.

Speaker 5 (22:01):
What does stand out to you about this game in
particular on Sunday, As you said, you guys felt like
you could win it.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
And you were in it all.

Speaker 5 (22:08):
The way to the end, which I think it was
a pretty amazing metaphor for the team in season overall.

Speaker 7 (22:12):
In some ways, I think what you realize when you
this my twentieth year in the NFL now is when
you get to these games in the divisional round and
the champ it's really hard and they come down to
a handful of plays and really the team that executes
better and those five ten plays and the margin that
grows from it is critical. And I think yesterday you
got to tip your cap to the lines. They just
they just played a more clean, cleaner game than we did.

(22:36):
And you know it wasn't that our The effort was
there on both sides. I thought it was an awesome
football game. I mean, that environment was unbelievable. I thought
our guys handled, especially the offense, handled the noise and
the atmosphere really really well. And at the end of
the day, like, that's a really good team and they've
been They've put out a really good product the entire year,
and they just made a few more plays than us,
And you know the reality is when that happens, you're

(22:58):
probably going to lose those games against good teams and
that's our reality right now.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
Why was this a team that, again even knowing that
internally we all had high expectations, but to have outside
voices saying that there were so low expectations and to
have all that dead cap space, why was this a
team that could still have the success that they did
and overcome those I mean, I've heard people comparing the
dead cap space to fighting with one arm tied behind
your back.

Speaker 7 (23:22):
Yeah. I think a couple of things. Right, Like we've
alluded to it before, we had a lot of guys
from the football that Super Bowl team that we're still here.
They knew how to win, and so you pair that
with a bunch of young and hungry guys in the
draft and free agency, and it took them a while
to gel and come together. But I think that combination
of experienced veteran that's still hungry for more, that knows

(23:43):
what it's like to survive in the NFL, Like right,
you're four and seven, there's a way through this when
we just we just got to we got to own
our reality and we got to keep going and then
getting the belief of the young guys and then to
have them grow as players throughout the season. I think
you know from a person else to point, we love
when rookies play early, harder for the coaches because they

(24:04):
don't trust them as well much and it's their right
not to. It's tough, right like, and not a lot
of rookies are. You'd love to have a team every
year where you don't have to count on rookies. That
was not going to be this team this year. We
all knew that. But when you get to that game
yesterday and Cody Mouk and Elijah and yah Yah and
Trey have been through the fire so to speak, for
eighteen games, nineteen games, they're ready to play. And a

(24:25):
lot of those guys played really really well yesterday, and
you know that helped those That combination of things I
think really helped us kind of survive that four and
seven and then kind of thrive down the stretch and
put ourselves in a position to win. Yesterday. We just
we came up a little bit short.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
We're talking to assistant general manager John spy Tech. You've
brought up the idea of the veterans and the young players,
and I think that's one of the big puzzles that
every front office team tries to come up with is
what is the right mixture of that? What do you
feel like you learned this year in terms of that
and where this team could be moving forward As you
try to assess what is the right balance of those things.

Speaker 7 (24:58):
I'm not sure that they're there's a right balance ever.
I think I think one of the things that we
got right this year is we had a bunch of
guys that just loved to play football, you know, And
I think that's what we've tried to you know, with
Jason's leadership, we've tried to really focus on that going forward,
and we've put a huge premium on it with the
guys that we add to this this rosters really in
the draft and also you know, from a free agency
standpoint too, And you know, really I think there's a

(25:19):
lot of ways to win in this in this league,
and it can be older, it can be younger. You know,
the Packers had a great year this year too with
one of the youngest rosters in the NFL. You know,
we flipped it from the oldest to you know, one
of the younger ones in the league. I think seventh
was the last number I heard. But for me, like
the guys that love to play, whether they're thirty five
or whether they're twenty two. There's a way forward with

(25:41):
those guys. There's a way through with those guys. And
I think that's what we found this year. We have
a lot of guys that are made up that way.

Speaker 5 (25:46):
And you talked about how excited you guys were with
what Baker did this year.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
What do you remember about when you guys were wanting to.

Speaker 5 (25:51):
Bring him in, the decision to bring him in, and
then even just what your expectations were and how he
played compared to those Well.

Speaker 7 (25:58):
A couple of things. First of all, you know, when
we scout college players, that report that we build, it
never dies, It lives in our system forever. And we
put a premium on guys in the draft with our
scouts that even though like we're picking twenty six this year, right,
there's a bunch of guys that were just never going
to be able to touch in the draft, But we

(26:19):
build a thorough report from a character standpoint, from a
player standpoint on those guys because there always is a
chance in the future that you could acquire them free
agency trade. You know, you just never can say never, right,
So I would go back to our evaluation of Baker
when he was coming out of Oklahoma. We loved him.
You know, we love the competitor, we love the player.
There was a lot to like about him. You know,
fast forward, he's played, you know, he's played for three teams.

(26:42):
Didn't work out in Cleveland when you looked at Baker
took him to the playoffs. First playoff win in Cleveland
since Bill Belichick was the head coach. I mean almost
went to Kansas City a week later in the divisional round.
You know, that was a one score game. I mean,
this is a guy who's been through it before. And
I really enjoyed the way he competed through the adversity
last year. And so then there's a belief that, like,

(27:03):
all right, well, maybe he's shown that he's going to
get through the hard times. And I think the players
that are best in the NFL, they have survived some
adversity at some point in their life. And Baker kind
of came through that with, you know, a great mindset.
And then he was motivated to come here, just like Tom.
He was motivated to come here. And I think guys
that choose you when you choose them, those are the

(27:25):
best ones. You know, like, did Baker have a lot
of options? Maybe not, but he was looking for the
best option for him and you know, it worked this
year and I'm happy for him. He competed his He
competed his tailoff when a lot of people counted him out,
and you know, I think that's that's in his makeup
and it was. It was fun to watch and.

Speaker 5 (27:45):
We definitely saw he bonded so well with the guys
in the locker room.

Speaker 4 (27:49):
There was a lot of leadership there.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
There was a lot of fight, like you said, and
guys want to play for a quarterback like that, and
especially with the O line, it felt like there was
a lot of chemistry there, which was really impressive based
on the fact here you have a new coordinator, quarterback,
a whole reshuffled offensive line. When it came to the
offensive line, what were the biggest challenges for you guys
as you tried to build this unit where you knew,
like in a group that consistency is more important than

(28:10):
maybe anywhere else. It's like you just kind of took
him and put them in a snow globe and.

Speaker 4 (28:13):
Shuffled them all up.

Speaker 5 (28:14):
What was it like to watch for you guys to
try to build that and then to watch the way
that they grew over the course of the season together.

Speaker 7 (28:20):
Well, we kind of leaned into the uncomfortable. I mean,
I remember talking my postgame from a post draft press
conference last year, and you know, we didn't get a
tackle and there's a lot of concern, and I kind
of addressed like, well, we watched Luke play tackle at
a high level in college, and just because we moved
him to guard as a rookie, we had done have
an interest in so where we wanted him to play
and get it. So anyway, you know, we had to

(28:42):
lean into Luke going back out to right tackle. But
when you're around Luke every day and you know how
much it means to him, and you see the athlete
that he is, and you see how hardy works in
the off season, how much it means to him, there's
a belief like, well, you can you can survive with
a guy like that out there. We moved Tristan to
left tackle. Right there's a risk there, but like taking
the best right tackle in the league and moving him
to left, and Tristan was you know, had some anxiety

(29:05):
about it, which we all understand, right like you're the
best at what you do, and it's like, well, why
would I do anything different? But you know, I think
our belief in Tristan helped get him through it. I
was actually joking with him about this, you know, recently,
like you're the only one that ever questioned that you
would succeed whether or not you would succeed succeed over there.
And I appreciate that about him because there's a humility
to him and there's a care factor that you know,

(29:25):
I'm not just going to go over there. It's going
to be, like, you know, the easiest thing in the
world to do. He acknowledges it's going to be hard.
You know, we're counting on a rookie left tackle from
North Dakota State moving to right guard, but plays every snap,
is entirely every snap as a rookie, and he took
his lumps early. But the thing you love about Cody
is it matters to him and he just kept competing
and competing, competing, so down the stretch he knows he

(29:46):
can play, he knows he belongs, you know. And then
Hainesy comes in and does a great job because he cares.
And then we start with Matt at left guard. Stinny's
played good ball for us. We would have been happy
going back to Matt too. But those guys are just
a great unit. They love the game, they love each other,
They communicate well, they hang out. There's a rapport with
them and that matters in the on line. So did

(30:08):
I know it was going to go this Well? Maybe
not was I did I have a strong belief that
they would figure it out? Certainly, I think we all
did upstairs.

Speaker 5 (30:16):
And then the run game in particular was something we
got to watch kind of grow and flourish as the
season went on. And I know there's a lot of
factors to that, whether it's you know, Canalis in the
new scheme, there's Shot and how he's running the offensive line,
in their chemistry. What did you watch as and now
from your perspective, what really led to the growth there?
And where if you were to look at beginning of
the season to where it is now and the confidence

(30:37):
you have in it moving forward, where do you guys
feel like you're at well?

Speaker 7 (30:40):
I think the commitment to it was key. You got
to you got to stay with the run game. In
the modern day NFL, too often people just start didn't work.
We were in five plays in the first quarter. They
got they got smashed. We got to throw it. You
got to you got to stay with it. And when
you stay with it, you'll start to find success in
the little thing with what you do. And then you

(31:01):
can grow off of that and now you've become a
little more unpredictable, you become a little more confident, and
you can do you know, some stuff off of that.
Then it opens up play action, and it opens up
the play action or the boots, the keepers, all the
stuff kind of starts together. But if you if you
won't stay committed to the run game, then the other
stuff you just end up being a drop back team.
And that, to me is exactly where defenses want you.

(31:23):
They want you in third and eight because you can't
run it and you don't run anything off of it,
and you just drop back. And you know, I'll give
our coaches and the player's credit, they stuck with it.
It wasn't always pretty. I thought Rashad grew a lot
as a runner this year. You could see that he
was a little more decisive as we went down the stretch.
He was hitting the whole herd. He was finishing through
DB's at the second level, which those guys don't want
to tackle big backs like we're shot over and over again.

(31:46):
And I think we have a lot to be excited
about going forward there. We've got guys now in place,
some young guys in place on the on line that
are going to be here for a while. They understand
the scheme and we can make a grow from there.

Speaker 5 (31:56):
All right, We're going to take a quick break here
on Buccaneers Total Access with Assistant Er Manager John spy Tech,
brought to you by Advan Helth. This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
You were listening to Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips, brought to
you by ad Van Health.

Speaker 4 (32:13):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access.

Speaker 5 (32:15):
We are so excited to be joined by Assistant general
Manager John spy Tech here with us. So right before
the break, we were talking about the run game and
its progress and the commitment to it.

Speaker 4 (32:24):
How about just coach.

Speaker 5 (32:25):
Canalis overall coming in first year play caller, what do
you remember about the decision to bring him in and
then just watching his development and growth and what he's
brought to the organization this year.

Speaker 7 (32:35):
Yeah, I think the two things that we were really
excited about when we hired Dave were his energy, his
positive attitude, you know, his belief. I thought that. I
think that that showed up on the field this year too.
I felt like, even when it was hard early in
the year, those guys kept competing. You know, they never
were kind of out of the fight, so to speak.

(32:56):
I mean, if you go to the Houston game, I
think we survived a third and seventeen that turned into
a fourth ten, you know, to put together a drive
which you know was really close to being a game
winning drive. Obviously you'd go to the Bills game. I mean,
it was a really hard, really hard, hard environment to
play in. We end up getting a drive put together
at the very end when we were kind of counting
out the whole game, and then get within a Hail Mary,

(33:17):
a really close Hail Mary of winning that game. The
Niners game. You know, we're two scores down, but we
dropped two passes in the end zone that could have
made that. Like, the guys just never gave in. There
was always an energy in a fight there, and I
think that that showed up in his interview and then
you know, he has a history of getting the best
out of quarterbacks, get the best out of Russell did
a great job with Gino last year. And obviously, you

(33:38):
know when we hired him, it was going to be
Baker or well, we hired day first, obviously, but we
were after Baker at that point and then Kyle, So
there was going to be a lot of work that
needed to be done with whoever was gonna be the
starting quarterback this year. And you know, his resume was
suggested that he could help get the best out of
those guys. You know, I want them to play point guard.
I wanted to run the offense. We're not going to

(33:59):
ask too much of them. We're going to get the
ball to our playmakers, let them play. And I thought
that played out this year and I think we have
a lot to build on there.

Speaker 5 (34:08):
And how about some of the other just offensive weapons
and what you saw from the season, whether it's your
wide receiver group or you know, you have Mike and
Chris this whole year and you know who they are,
what they are. Then you lose Russell gage and now
you have to kind of find a you know, different
group of people to fulfill that third option out there,
whether it was Kate Atten at times, or Trey Palmer
or David Moore in this whole massive group that it
seemed like, especially towards the end of the season, you

(34:30):
guys are really finding some depth in terms of offensive weapons.
What stands out about just kind of the way that
the offensive makeup ended up throughout the course of the
year and where you guys feel like you stand in
terms of other weapons outside of you know, the run
game and what the pass game could look like moving forward.

Speaker 7 (34:45):
Yeah, I thought a lot of those guys took a
big step forward this year. Obviously, Cad he played some
as a rookie, does a good job, but I think
he really really took off this year, especially down the
stretch here. I mean, the thing you love about Cad
is he's going to empty the tank on every play.
I the world to him, and he's one of those
guys that you can count on him. And I think
if you went through and asked the guys on the team, like,

(35:06):
you know, give me a couple of fox Hold guys
about you heat show up and a lot of them
because you know he's gonna he's gonna be there with
you fight until the very end the wide receiver group
obviously after Chris and Mike. You know those guys. Those
guys are awesome and you know, we had high expectations
for them and they obviously fulfilled it both getting a
thousand yards this year and just the way they are

(35:26):
and the way they lead is elite. The way that
we looked at the other wide receivers was we have
a great opportunity, and I think that's how we as
a scouting staff really approached the entire offseason last year
was we're going to find some young guys or some
bargain deals. So whether it's Trey Palmer and the sixth
or you know, David Moore's or who's a rookie rookie
mini camp tryout guy, get DT a little more involved.
We found Rikim Jarrett in the in the free agency too,

(35:50):
so you know, we're just trying to add players that
fit the offensive scheme with what Dave and the guys
want to do that you know, can make plays with
the ball in their hands and they love to play,
and I think we did that. That showed up kind
of as the season went, and I think those guys
have a lot to build on going forward as well.

Speaker 5 (36:10):
We're talking to assistant general manager John Spytech, so now
flipping over to the defensive side. But I guess before
we even do that, let's just kind of talk about
the draft class from this year. So many guys that
were asked to play very big roles or at least
a lot of snaps as well.

Speaker 4 (36:27):
As you look back on this season, how proud.

Speaker 5 (36:30):
Are you of what you guys were able to find
in this year's draft, knowing that you weren't getting to
pick super high and to still have found the talent
that you did in each round is pretty incredible.

Speaker 7 (36:41):
I'm really proud of our scouts. I know I speak
for Jason in that matter too, and and we talked
about it. You know, we were very upfront with them
going into the off season last year. It's going to
be we're going to take take all the hits on
the cap. We're not gonna be all to sign guys
in free agency. This is going to be a huge
off season for us because we're going to have just
not only like you know, the pet draft pics we had,

(37:01):
but we're gonna have We knew we're gonna have a
really big undrafted free agent class too, and so we
tried to empower all of our college scouts to have
their best spring and I think they crushed it. And
I'm just really really proud of them. And you know,
Jason makes the pick and I'm here talking to you
and Greenberg and Rob and Mike. But you know, the

(37:21):
people that grind their way through, you know, the entire country,
and you know, they either don't get their name said
very much. I mean, they just they crushed it. And
then the draft classes what you see, and we planned
it out, We talked to a nauseum about it. They
knew what they had to do and we did it.
And you know, the guy showed up and they played
this year and they proved it and it's it's one

(37:43):
of the best draft classes from the top to the
bottom I've ever been a part of. And I think
I played out as the season went. So I'm really
just proud of our group. They crushed it.

Speaker 4 (37:51):
That's awesome.

Speaker 5 (37:52):
And I think to me, standing out in that group,
especially towards the end of the year is ya Yan Collijah.
That what a duo they turned out to be, competing
with each other for rookie leads and things like tackles
for loss and sackson. I mean, man, that you cannot
ask for anything better than that. Then multiple rookies leading
in a category and fighting amongst each other for that.
What stands out to you about the two of them,

(38:13):
what made you want to pick each of them, and
just what it says about the future of this defense.

Speaker 7 (38:18):
Well, I'll start with both the fact that they love
the playball and they there's just a competitiveness to them
that you admire and you respect, and that you just
want to fill your team with guys like that. You know,
they've both gone through different adversities a part of their lives,
you know, Collijah being kind of counted out because of
a size. I talked about it in my post draft

(38:39):
press conference last year. But to have a coaching staff
that empowers you and enables you to take guys that
don't necessarily fit the high weight speed mold necessarily, you know,
at two hundred and sixty one two hundred and eighty
pound three technique, a lot of teams would be like,
have no use for it. But that's not the way
we're wired. We're worried to bring in good football players
and will make it work. And you know, I think

(39:01):
that obviously showed up with Collijah this year, and I
think he played his best ball down the stretch. I
was reading on Twitter today that the only person with
more pressures and sacks through the first two playoff games
is Aiden Hutchinson. So Collijiah kept himself in a pretty
good company. And with his little playoff run there is
like eleven pressures in a sack and a half, So
expecting big things for him to come and then you know, yeah, yeah,

(39:24):
once he got comfortable in the defense and got in
the starting lineup, I think just showed you the kind
of player he can he can be. He got better
and better as the season went, and you know, I
was joking with a couple of the other guys in
the rookie class, you know, in December at some point
I was like, who's here the most? And they all
just went yeah, and just you probably know that too, right,

(39:44):
He's just always here. He works his tail off. It
matters to him. You know, we've all told the story
about how he had, you know, from high school to
Atlanta Airport to you know, Georgia Military to Louisville and
just kept getting better and better and better and and
you know, I think he knows this game can be
taken away from you. I think he's learned that, and
he has no intention of.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
Learning that happen.

Speaker 7 (40:06):
And you know, to have two guys in the D
line in the front in a league where pressuring the
quarterback as a premium and you get one, you know,
in the you know, mid mid part of the first
round and one at the end of the third round
is pretty cool. And we've got big, big hopes and
big plan for those guys coming back next year.

Speaker 5 (40:23):
And I was thinking about the core of your secondary
as well, that you could say, your maybe most valuable
player on the team this year, Antoine Winfield junior, your
most improved player this year, maybe Zion McCollum. And then
you're looking at your other outside corners Jabel and Carlton
having a good year when they're healthy, and looking at
that quad of guys all being draft picks, and it
being guys that you have resigned and have the chance

(40:45):
to maybe and I just think how cool it is
for you guys to look at that and what stands
out to you about how you've been able to build
that secondary with some of these homegrown talent guys well
through the draft.

Speaker 7 (40:55):
Which is the best way to do it. And you know,
you know, you know the kind of person that you're
getting and you're the person you're doing a second contract with.
I just think it's the best way to do it.
You know. I remember when I got here and you know,
a couple of years and we started to pick some guys,
and you know, Greenee Greenberger would always be like, I mean,
we're not used to paying these guys, and I'm like,

(41:17):
it's coming, Greenee, Like, we're gonna some of these guys
we're gonna have. We're gonna go from like having too
much cap space and cash and free agency to not
enough because we're just we're we're drafting really well. And
I think that's kind of been born out over the
last couple of years. And you know, obviously enent One
had ad an awesome season. Just one of one stuff. Really,
I mean, it really upset me that he didn't make

(41:38):
the Pro Bowl and actually thought it was a big
joke that he couldn't make the Pro Bowl when he's
doing what he's doing. But I'm glad he got his
due on the All Pro team. There's no one more
deserving the plays he made this year. The hustle plays,
I mean, the two plays where you strip a guy
that's going into the end zone are just elite. And
it starts with a want to and a desire to
put yourself in a position and hustle and give yourself

(41:59):
a chance. My college coach us to talk about on defense,
like just give us a place to stand, just figure
out a way to get him down before the goal line,
And those two plays to me some him up. He's
just a driven, highly motivated kid to be successful and
couldn't be more proud of him.

Speaker 5 (42:14):
And Levante another guy that feels like he's just playing
at a level that he shouldn't be at this point
at his age. And it seems like you guys still
knew you re signed him this year, that you knew
he was still the Levante that we've come to know
in love over the years.

Speaker 7 (42:28):
Just absolutely one of the best football players I've ever
been around, a better person. And I'm not going to
sit here. I mean, Fountain Youth or whatever. I mean,
whatever he's doing is awesome, and.

Speaker 4 (42:40):
Whatever he's doing, we should all be doing it.

Speaker 7 (42:41):
Yeah, And I just you can go back to going
to Nebraska and doing your College report on him. I mean,
he was the one that it mattered the most to
him that program. They talked about him. You know, it's
like I am that man that we've talked about, you know,
here for years now. He just it just matters to
him in a way that it doesn't matter to a
lot of people. And his ability to sustain that drive

(43:02):
and his love for the game is just remarkable. And
we're just lucky to have him, We really are. We're
lucky to be around him. The way he leads, the
way he cares about his teammates. You know, it's not
a surprise he's as good of a football player as
he is. It's not an accident. Just awesome, awesome.

Speaker 5 (43:20):
And then also I know some of the guys that
maybe don't always get talked about as much as everybody else,
but played big roles on the team this year. Your specialists,
Jake Kmarta, Chase McLoughlin, and I know that Chase would
love to have that one back in the game.

Speaker 4 (43:31):
But that was his first miss. That wasn't a block
all season.

Speaker 5 (43:34):
It was booming, just incredibly long kicks felt so consistent. Jake,
of course, you know, could kick it out of any
stadium anywhere. What have you seen from the two of them,
and what it was like to know that you want
to prioritize even drafting a Jake and then the decision
to sign Chase and watch him go through that competition
this year of how you guys ended up with the
two of.

Speaker 7 (43:54):
Them, Well, yeah, Chase has been a really solid kicker
for a long time in this league. He just is
kind of on the journey that a lot of the
guys are on, right, Like, you know, play for a
bunch of teams and eventually you find a place and
all the adversity that you went through it makes you better.
And I don't I think we were all shocked that
he bounce him off the upright yesterday, I and I

(44:15):
think that was probably an inch away from just skimming
the post and going in. But remarkably consistent, dedicated to
his craft, great demeanor about him. It's just not surprising
that it's not surprising that he is as successful as
he is. You know, he's people would say he doesn't
have the biggest leg, he's you know, not the most talented, Okay, Well,
I mean he made fifty eight in Minnesota this year, right,

(44:36):
I mean some of the kicks that he's made are
just absolute nails this year. And you know, I think
there's a certain kind of person that leans into those
opportunities and is unfazed by him, and there's people that
really can be too big for and I clearly he's
the former of those two and had a great year.
I mean really, up until yesterday, the only two kicks
he had missed got knocked on the line of scrimmage.
So and then with Jake, you know, one of them,

(44:59):
probably the most talented punter I've ever been around. And
you know, when he's when he's on and hitting it well,
it is amazing to watch. It's we call it like
easy power. It doesn't look like he barely swings his
leg and it goes as far as he needs it
to go. And you know, he's gotten a lot better
with the balls down inside the fifteen and the ten,
which you know he can continue to get better at.

(45:19):
But I think also, you know, him and those two
and Zach have a great rapport. They got a great relationship.
They all work together. Obviously Chase needs both of them,
you know, to snap and to hold. So it's just
a good room with guys that care about each other
and care about football. Then you know they did a
great job this year.

Speaker 4 (45:35):
All right, we're gonna take one more break.

Speaker 5 (45:36):
We have a final segment coming up here on Buccaneers
Total Access where we will look ahead to the off
season and next season with Assistant General Manager John spy Tech.

Speaker 4 (45:44):
Brought to you by Advan Help.

Speaker 6 (45:45):
This is Buccaneers Radio Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles.

Speaker 2 (45:50):
Now continues brought to you by ad Van Help.

Speaker 8 (45:52):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. We have Assistant general
Manager John Spytech here with us. So, of course the
question of the hour, what is the caps that you
for next year? That was such a big part of
the story and the narrative this year. How good or
bad are we are we looking for next year? How
hard are you guys going to have to work?

Speaker 7 (46:09):
Well, there's still going to be a little bit of
work that you know, we have to do, but we
are in a much better place. We're still paying for
some of those those things that we did with Tom
and the guys, but it's going to look and feel
a lot different going forward this year, which is good
one because we'll be able to do some things in two,
because we have a lot of guys that are up

(46:30):
or close to being up that we obviously would like
to have back. So where we used to be able
to be big players in free agency, we're probably not
that route anymore because of the guys that we want
to retain. But we are not going to be hamstrung
with eighty million dollars dead cap space like we were
this year.

Speaker 5 (46:43):
But we've also seen where free agency has brought in
some really important people to this team. So how active
do you guys feel like you're going to be and
maybe just what are some of the things you've even
learned about using free agency in these last few years.

Speaker 7 (46:54):
Well, we will be prepared as always for any good
deal that's out there, and I think really that's the
most important thing, is you want to find good deals.
You know, we will look at every UFA that's out there.
This year, Rob and the guys doing an unbelievable job
stacking that board and trying to gauge a value for
all of them, both from a league standpoint, where they're
going to come in at and what we would value
them at. And if there's good deals out there, we'll

(47:16):
certainly do them and consider them and try to get
them and if not, then we'll be happy to kind
of sit some of those out and pay our guys
to stick around here.

Speaker 5 (47:25):
And I know that every team has the salary cap
to figure out, but it does feel like you guys,
and particularly you know, Mike Greenberg and Jackie Davidson have
gotten a lot of praise for the creativity that has
allowed you guys to do this, that it's not a
given that you even could have done what you've done
these last few years. What are the things that you
guys are really proud of as a front office that
you felt like helped you stand apart from other teams

(47:46):
even in the ways that you figured out how to
be creative and make it work that maybe some fans
just don't even know is going on behind the scenes.

Speaker 7 (47:54):
Well, I think it starts with really, you know, the
Glazer family and their willingness to spend because I and
when you understand the salary cap, every dollar that you
spend has to be accounted for at some point, and
when and where you account for it is really what
you know, Mike and Jackie do an unbelievable job of
But you know, you have just two hundred million to

(48:14):
spend this year just as a you know, an arbitrary number.
You can spend a lot more than that cash wise
and make it spread out way over the you know,
take a lot less cap charge. But every dollar that
you spend you pay for eventually, So that's all money
being spent by by ownership here. So it really starts
with their willingness to give us the ability to do that,
and then Jackie and Mike do an unbelievable job of

(48:35):
coming up with new ways to you know, massage the
massage the contract here, push the money there and then
always keep you in a pretty good other than this
year's state. But that was a conscious decision that we
all made to go, you know, to go for it.

Speaker 4 (48:50):
It was obviously worth it, and.

Speaker 7 (48:51):
At some point, yeah, and at some point you know
that you're going to have to take take it on
the chin, which we did and I would say we
we did pretty well. But you know, from the Glazier
family to A Jason to Mike and Jackie, the way
that they manipulate that the salary cap and the constraints
that they operate under is really impressive. And it's one
of the reasons that we've had sustained success here now

(49:13):
for four years.

Speaker 5 (49:15):
We're talking to assistant general manager John Spytech. This is
obviously the part of the show where every fan out
there is wanting me to ask you who's staying, who
we're keeping, who were bringing in? You know, all these
questions that of course we're not going to answer because
that's not how it works and we want to maintain
this competitive advantage.

Speaker 4 (49:28):
So instead I will phrase it how.

Speaker 5 (49:29):
I always do to all of you guys, of how
are some of the positions of depth in free agency
and the draft, and what are some of the areas
that are really exciting for not only here but just
across the league. Everybody would say, you know what, this
is a year that looks pretty strong in some different areas.

Speaker 7 (49:44):
I think it's a great question, and it changes every year,
right Like there's years where there's a ton of quarterbacks,
so there's no quarterbacks, there's a ton of receivers, and
there's no receivers. And the landscape in college football is
changing now as such with the ANDIL deals and collectives
they're called. Now, that's kind of what I'm coming to understand,
where basically the guys are just paid to stay which

(50:06):
great for those players they deserve it. I think we
have a record basically a record low number, or at
least in recent years, of like fifty four underclassmen coming
out many and many are going back. So that's changed
a lot of you know, most of the years, it's
the juniors that are the best. You know, if you
look at the top ten picture every year, it's nine
juniors or something like that. Now there's a lot less
of them. We also are navigating the COVID years too,

(50:28):
where all these guys that were in college in twenty
twenty get an extra year, so it could be a fifth,
sixth year. Some of them choose when you think that
they're going to come out, they're going back. So we're
still kind of waiting to go through all of that. Obviously,
I think there's a bunch of great quarterbacks in the
draft this year. We've won far too many games picking
twenty six now to factor into that. There's a bunch

(50:50):
of really good receivers, which I know how much everybody
loves receivers, but again picking six, picking twenty six makes
it hard. I mean, if if anybody has any good
ideas out there about how we can get up to
six or seven. We might have a shot at some
of them, but they're just too good, so, you know,
and I think there's a bunch of It really feels
like an offensive draft to me at this point from
a talent standpoint, and how many of those guys fallow

(51:11):
the twenty six will be something we have to monitor.
I'm confident in our group. I'm confident in our scouts
and with Jason that we'll do what we always do
around here, is we'll find the best one and we'll
be ready.

Speaker 1 (51:22):
To pick them.

Speaker 4 (51:23):
Awesome.

Speaker 5 (51:23):
Well, John, thank you so much for spending time with us.
Thanks for all the work you guys do. And I
know that you're at the point now we're losing sucks,
but congratulations on a season that was very fun to
be a part of as a as a Bucks fan
and as a Bucks employee.

Speaker 7 (51:35):
So I appreciate it. Yeah, I appreciate you having me today.
And we're proud, We certainly are proud. We competed hard.
But there's more to do.

Speaker 4 (51:43):
Absolutely all right, Well, that's going to do it for us.

Speaker 5 (51:44):
On Buccaneers Total Access brought to you by Advent Health,
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