Derrick Brooks Talks Todd Bowles Influence On The Offense
September 11th, 2022
Todd Bowles
It scares the snot out of some Bucs fans to think that defensive guru head coach Todd Bowles will have a say in the Tampa Bay offense when he could just lean on Super Bowl playcaller Byron Leftwich, Tom Brady and influential icon Tom Moore.
So will Bowles push an agenda on the offense?
Per Bowles’ comments, it seems like he’ll stay hands-off because he knows it’s a well-oiled machine in great hands.
However, Buccaneers legend Derrick Brooks is very confident Bowles does have a strong priority when it comes to the offense, and the head coach will lean on his offensive coordinator to make it happen.
And that is to run the ball.
“That’s just one of the elements I know Coach Bowles is going to bring and harp on Coach Leftwich and Coach [Harold] Goodwin is to get that running game going,” Brooks said on TAMPA TWO (video below).
Brooks talked about how he was clapping and “doing jumping jacks” when he saw the running game in the preseason and the clear emphasis on it.
Brooks also added that Brady is now referencing his age more than ever before. Yes, it’s mostly being done sarcastically, Brooks said, but the point in that message is the Bucs need a better run game.
Joe hopes Brooks is wrong, though he’s probably not given his connections in the organization. Joe sees the Bucs’ strength in the passing game and believes it could be good enough to carry them to the Super Bowl. If Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Russell Gage and Chris Godwin get healthy, that could be the great receiver foursome in NFL history.
That’s not a group Joe can look at and say, “Lets’ run more Power O.”
It’s a new look for the iconic show with Buccaneers legend Derrick Brooks and JoeBucsFan.com columnist Ira Kaufman. TAMPA TWO is back — in studio! Another great presentation from The Identity Tampa Bay and Joe.
September 11th, 2022 at 1:54 am
This means no more than a 35% run / 65% pass mix instead of 25% run / 75% mix, something like that. If Brady doesn’t like the call he will audible out of it.
September 11th, 2022 at 3:58 am
‘Joe hopes Brooks is wrong, though he’s probably not given his connections in the organization.’
Not that hard to tell which Joe wrote this one.
And if Mr Derrick Brooks is ‘clapping and doing jumping jacks’ at the POSSIBILITY of the Bucs running more, I’m with him 100%. There appears to be a reasonable correlation between how much you run and Time of Possession.
Only 5 teams had OVER a 31 minute TOP last year: Packers, Titans, Ravens, Colts, Bills. All had OVER a 40% run-pass ratio. Titans had the highest (48.6%) of that group, while the Bills had the lowest (40.3%).
Another 14 teams had BETWEEN 30-31 minute TOP last year. The 2 teams at the BOTTOM of that group play tonight: Bucs (30:11 TOP) & Cowboys (30:07 TOP). Bucs had a league-low 33.8% run-pass ratio (actually #31 ranking in rushing attempts), while the Cowboys were a more conventional 41.0% (ranking them #12 in rushing attempts). Both teams won their division & made the playoffs with very similar records (13-4 vs 12-5). Both teams had the top offenses (ranked #2 & #1), and both had quality defenses (ranked #5 & #7).
And oh ya, both lost their playoff games last year to teams that (1) played quality defense; (2) ran the ball a LOT more than they did in their playoff game; and (3) controlled the clock. By the 2nd half, the stories were similar: Cowboys were behind 23-7 in the 3rd qtr, while the Bucs were behind 27-3 in the 3rd qtr. Both eventually came back somewhat to make it appear close. But then again, close only counts in horseshoes & hand grenades.
September 11th, 2022 at 4:40 am
Being somewhat “old school” I like a good run game. I am going to enjoy watching the progress of the rookie, Rachaad White, this year. I am depending on Playoff Lenny to have agreat season also.
The GOAT wil of course do his thing as our QB. He might even give us a run-and-slide once in a great while.
Go Bucs!
September 11th, 2022 at 7:00 am
Defense Rules Says:
September 11th, 2022 at 3:58 am……
DF I hope your getting enough sleep….. playoff football is a whole other category… And yes time of possesion ( controlling the clock )is very important but we need a dominating defense to do that … hopefully everyone stays healthy
September 11th, 2022 at 7:55 am
Run it ‘up the gut’ on 1st & 10 means 2nd & nine to go. Teams will then look for a pass. With our new OL, this could be a disaster.
September 11th, 2022 at 8:08 am
Wonder if their first play is a run up the middle.
September 11th, 2022 at 8:20 am
Go no huddle, get a lead and then run the ball. It gives your defense longer breaks and beats up the opposing D. It worked great in our Super Bowl win against the Chiefs. It would be a good strategy tonight to help Goedeke while hurting Parsons.
September 11th, 2022 at 8:36 am
If you can run the ball effectively, than you should. The key word is “IF”. I wonder if the threat our WRs bring to the table will actually help our run game. Lastly, I can definitely see Bowles turning to the run game more than we may like with a lead, possibly putting to much faith in the defense. The good news is we have Brady who will not be timid to audible all day long if opportunities present themselves in the passing game.
September 11th, 2022 at 8:51 am
Agree, Alvafan. Run more no huddle, then power run game with the lead in hand.
Also, more screens please.
GO BUCS!!!
September 11th, 2022 at 10:07 am
20% run 80% pass.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:08 am
I’m not going to worry about a lack of passing on offense like Joe and many Buc fans. I agree with Brooks. The running game needs to be much better and much more consistent than it was last year. Relax everybody. A better running game will make our team better. Any knowledgeable football fan knows this.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:13 am
There seems to be a simple correlation being made between running the ball effectively and being a Super Bowl contender.
There are many ways to win in the NFL and one way to win could be to be one of the better time of possession teams. However, the last 3 years has shown us that the teams winning the Super Bowl have been teams that have made their biggest offensive plays through the air.
I am with Joe, the Bucs path for success seems to be by continuing to be one of the best three teams throwing the ball each year. Let Tennessee, Baltimore and Green Bay be better at running the ball than us. I am not saying that they can’t win it all. I would just personally take the Bucs in a playoff game against any of those three teams.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:15 am
Correction to last post.
There seems to be some Joebucsfans trying to correlate a simple connection between running the ball successfully and being a super bowl contender.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:21 am
Problem with the Bucs and running especially early in the season is in the last few yrs our special teams play. When the Bucs commit to the run they seem to get stoned at the 35 or whatever. Then comes the inevitible punt that goes 40yds and returned 7 or 11. The other team doesnt get to fg range so they punt. Because we cannot find a decent returner or block for him that puts the ball at our 10 or so. The O line panics, someone holds, we are at the 5. Brady is rushed or whatever we end up punting, ball goes 40 they win the firld position battle.
Once we get behind doing that they’ll let Brady hunt with his arm. That pattern has been the same since Schiano it seems. Thankfully Brady can overcome most of the time with his tools.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:36 am
Really enjoy hearing from Derrick again on these broadcasts. I know Sapp was a great player… Barber… Lynch… Alstott… and onward. But in my mind, Derrick will always be the face of the Bucs. Yeah… he is a FSU homer. But as they say, nobody is perfect. LOL.
September 11th, 2022 at 10:54 am
I don’t see an emphasis on running the ball as a detriment to the offense. We should still score a ton of points, and maybe we can have a time of possession advantage, which helps the defense. That helps winning. I’ll take more wins and less points every day of the week.
September 11th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
I also am glad to hear what Brooks said about the new emphasis on the run. What we do from week to week will vary depending on who we’re playing. But its always good to have more bullets in the gun, whether we need them or not. If we play a team that cannot stop our running game they are going to be so screwed. They’ll try to load up the box to stop it and that will make life easier for our receivers who will see fewer defenders available to cover them. Not only will this help dominate time of possession but it will also wear out the defenders. Had our running game been better last season our chances to go deeper into the playoffs would have increased after most of our best receivers got injured or left due to mental issues.
September 11th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
This entire issue is moot. With Bruce Arians out, Bowles will defer to Leftwich and Brady to formulate each week’s game plan with no fear of anyone red-penning the snot out of it at the end of the week. Smooth game planning, walk throughs with opponent specific plays practiced on the down low away from prying eyes.
His start tonight will showcase Tom Brady as the true player-coach, a la Peyton Manning, that he’s been jonesing for the last 10 years. Watch for a previously missing fluidity in Bucs’ possessions as Brady calls plays, audibling more, directing traffic and calling for substitution packages (all worked out during the week) with ZERO interference from his headset/sidelines. With complete autonomy on the field, Brady will keep the clock running on Time of Possession.
Expect Brady and the Bucs to go wild tonight against Dallas, to keep that momentum going through the Aints, Packers and Chiefs’ and be 4 – 0 at the top of the NFC and stay there.