2013 was sort of a nightmare season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – what with all the losing and the guys getting infections from the locker room and all – but it was particularly hard on DE Da’Quan Bowers, who now admits that former coach Greg Schiano was a big part of his problem.
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Bowers said via theledger.com:
"“It’s not all about the injuries,” he said. “I let other reasons get to me mentally. It was Schiano. He got to me mentally, and I couldn’t bounce back for some reason. I blame myself though. I couldn’t push through it mentally. It taught me something and I’m a better person and a better player because of that.”"
Da’Quan Bowers was not a Schiano Man. It doesn’t seem like very many Buccaneers players were Schiano Men last year, but that’s all behind them now. Schiano is gone and Lovie Smith is in place.
Will Bowers turn out to be a Lovie Man? One gets the sense that it’s easier to be a Lovie Man than a Schiano Man. But if Bowers has another bad year under Lovie Smith, I guess that will mean he’s run out of head coach-related excuses.
You get a free pass to use Schiano as an excuse for one year, but after that, it’s on you. Same goes for the whole Buccaneers team.
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