It didn't take long for people to realize the 2022 version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was not the same version that sat atop the NFL from 2020-2021.

Sure, there were a ton of injuries and some key personnel changes that contributed to the overall mess, but something was just off, in a general sense. Ultimately, it all resulted in a very disappointing year that ended with an absolute thud in the playoffs.

"Yeah, we won the [NFC] South, but [there] wasn't much to it, really," Buccaneers starting right tackle Tristan Wirfs said Monday.

"What we're gonna do this year is establish a good culture and let that breed itself. We want it to infect the whole team and everyone to be on the same page and us to be a unit."

Wirfs' reference to a change in culture is the second time the topic has been broached since the season ended in January. Todd Bowles referenced it during a January appearance on Bucs Total Access and now, obviously, Wirfs is talking about it.

“Those who come back, we gotta create new culture, new chemistry and new camaraderie,” said Bowles. “We’ll have new people coming in, if you’re lucky enough to come back or privileged enough to come back, be ready to work.”

Bowles' comment was interesting at the time and still is. It's completely logical -and fair- to question why the team would want to move away from the culture that Bruce Arians and Tom Brady built. 

You know, the culture that won the franchise its second Super Bowl.

When listening to Wirfs, however, it's easy to understand why.

"I feel like winning the Super Bowl was kind of like a blessing and a curse at the same time," said Wirfs. "I feel like it united some groups of people, or some guys, and it kind of made individuals."

Granted, that happens with just about every team and Wirfs acknowledged that. It's not like this is strictly a Bucs problem. But it also explains a lot. There were way too many moments where it felt like some players weren't completely bought-in and now we know that is true, to an extent.

2023 represents a fresh start, however, and that seems to be the general feeling heading into the NFL Draft. Bowles brought in some fresh faces in terms of his coaching staff and those faces are rooted in much different philosophy than that of Byron Leftwich and some of the other coaches that left the franchise in whatever capacity during the offseason.

The 2020 Super Bowl run -and the Brady/Arians era- are officially in the past and it's time to move on. In the end, the Buccaneers will only be better for it, too.

"That's in the past. We're here now. We know what it takes, You know what I'm saying?" said Wirfs. "So, for us to get everyone on that same page of knowing what it takes to get that done, but not letting there be any individuals. One goal, one collective in mind, all working for the same thing."