The Next Three Months Will Tell A Lot About Todd Bowles
October 18th, 2022
Bucs coach Todd Bowles.
Some, including Bucco Bruce Arians, believe coach Todd Bowles is a damn good head coach. Others aren’t so sure.
The next 90 days should settle the debate either way.
Albert Breer of SI.com types that the Bucs are showing signs of cracking with a 3-3 record, an offense that struggles to break 20 points a game and injuries to key veterans up the ying-yang.
Will Bowles be able to adjust and manage his way through the struggles and injuries to get the Bucs to the playoffs, or will the cracks grow so wide and long that the team won’t recover?
… They just lost to a 1–4 Steelers team Sunday, one that had its rookie quarterback hurt in-game. Their inactive list was chock full of older players (Akiem Hicks, Julio Jones, Kyle Rudolph, Logan Ryan), the kind you’d worry about making it through the year. And the offensive line, sans Alex Cappa, Ryan Jensen and Ali Marpet, got a tongue-lashing from the quarterback in that ugly 20–18 loss Sunday (I won’t read lips, but it’s fair to say he thinks the line’s underachieving).
In the backdrop of all of this, of course, is Brady himself, more in and out than ever before in his football career. He missed Saturday’s walkthrough this week to attend the wedding of his old boss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, in New York on Friday night …
The Buccaneers’ saving grace right now might be a manageable schedule and division. And I do think Todd Bowles is a really good coach capable of working through much of this.
After Sunday’s insanity, Joe is “this close” to calling for Bucs quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen to take over as offensive coordinator. Twice now this season Bowles has said in press conferences his offense needs to do something anyone in high school or older knows the offense should be doing.
Sunday, it was to find ways for Mike Evans to get open and to get the ball in the hands of their stars.
Does the head coach really need to instruct his offensive coordinator, “Hey, that stud receiver we have, No. 13, it might be smart if you target him more than once in the second half.” Really? What next, Bowles needs to tell Leftwich he needs to get the ball past the sticks on third down?
The next 90 days will tell a lot about what Bowles is made of.
October 18th, 2022 at 4:22 am
What does it take, a brick bouncing off our heads? I’ve seen enough of Bowkes this season and seasons past with the Jets.
October 18th, 2022 at 4:33 am
Neither one shows me much including the special teams coach . Offence is so predictable that if we can see it than you know opposing coaches know what to plan for ahead of time.
Defence, it’s like they have forgot everything at times
Special Teams…. Aaaaahahaha, and Darden ?
Big ha.
Big time troubles coming with Gabbert and who knows about Trask at this stage
JMO
October 18th, 2022 at 5:06 am
Bowles said one thing that I found encouraging. Something to the effect that going to get Goedece some help. Our backs aren’t producing enough chunk plays in thee running game et them block in
pass protection to give Brady more time to go through his progressions and find
our WR on routes designed to get them open. It is also possible that Brady’s grip
of the ball may affect his delivery of the short tight window passes like he was
attempting to throw to Godwin.
October 18th, 2022 at 5:36 am
Tom Brady has to step up and take over the play calling because leftwich is garbage–what we are doing is not working and by now they should of adjusted yet they are too stubborn so basically we are about a 5 win team maybe we will be able to get the number one draft pick lets trade devin white for some ammo
October 18th, 2022 at 6:18 am
bring back BA his offense was so much better with the red pen
October 18th, 2022 at 6:38 am
Everyone has been screaming at the top of their lungs how F’d we were with this O-line. Bucs had more than ample time to fix the situation, and chose not to.
Our team struggling shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. And be prepared for this things to really spiral out of control and get real nasty internally.
It didn’t have to be this way.
October 18th, 2022 at 6:41 am
Right now the whole offence is just stuck in second gear.
A little part of it’s on everyone, including Brady.
The defence is a roll of the dice. When they give up the booty on third and ten-plus constantly … There’s no words to suffice.
October 18th, 2022 at 6:49 am
The online is especially derelict. Goedehe is a gimme for harsh criticism, but even Wirfs was muffing up in Pittsburg.
There’s nobody at the helm.
October 18th, 2022 at 6:50 am
If he hasn’t already Bowles needs to hand the defensive play calling over to his DC and start being a head coach. This might be a scary thought, but he needs to be highly involved with the offense. I’m not saying he should call plays, but he needs to be a head coach and not a DC in disguise as a HC. This is his second chance. Time to come out of his comfort zone some and be a tough leader.
October 18th, 2022 at 6:53 am
Does Clyde understand the concept of using your best weapons? If so, I’d make him the OC. I’d also pick ONE defensive coordinator. Having two is stupid and may be one of the reasons for the lack of communication.
October 18th, 2022 at 6:54 am
The other thing about BA he didn’t hesitate to point out that Evans was open during games. That said, with the breakdowns in blocking , Brady has a history of going to backs and short passes. Problem was his passes were not always accurate and our backs didn’t get past the sticks enough with this strategy. So you could make a case that Bl was not the only one that was too predictable on Sunday.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:02 am
Let’s remember Clyde was the OC under Tony Dungy and he was more conservative and predictable than BL.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:07 am
Bowles won’t make a public change, the entire staff is built on a good ole boy mentality and it’s highly doubtful Bowles train wrecks Leftwich career by abandoning him mid season. I never thought Bowles was that great of a DC, he routinely gets exposed by young QBs when we should be giving those guys the worst day of their young career.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:16 am
Bucs appear to have multiple problems that will be hard to solve at this point in the season. The biggest one is talent & experience in certain position groups, most notably DLine, OLine & TE. The DLine lacks leadership, the OLine is depleted by injuries right now, and the TEs miss Gronk. More experience will help, but that takes time. Getting Jensen & Hicks back from the injury list will probably help more than anything though.
Leftwich seems to be adequate when he has superior talent to work with, but his limitations are showing with so many inexperienced players in there. It doesn’t help I’m sure that his QB is obviously not 100% all-in this year. Still, ‘we are where we are’ and it’s early in the season. Bowles has limited options to ‘fix’ our offensive problems (our HC isn’t an offensive mastermind by his own admission), but MAYBE BA can help straighten things out (by bringing back the red pen?).
Bowles needs to re-evaluate his dual-hatted position. It takes a truly exceptional HC to make that work, and most who do make it work seem to have backgrounds in offense as opposed to defense (like Sean Payton, Andy Reid & yes Jon Gruden). Belicheck & Dungy are 2 notable exceptions, but they both had strong OCs to manage that side of the ball; Bowles doesn’t have that. If I were Todd, I’d put Larry Foote in charge of the defense & focus exclusively on my HC responsibilities. And the first thing I’d do is have a very loooong talk with my OC & S/Ts coach … with BA involved. Bowles ‘inherited’ both of his coordinators & that’s not necessarily a good thing it appears.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:20 am
Bobby M
You are correct, Sir……..It’s understandable that there are calls for BL to be fired or for BA to step in…..but there is no way in hell that will happen…..the Bucs will go down with BL and BA in the sky box….
Now, if will be very interesting to see what they do at the end of the year if the Bucs fail…..will Bowles fire BL?……..will Brady return?
October 18th, 2022 at 7:24 am
With Bowles latest press conference what makes anybody think this is going to turn around? This team is NOT responding to him like BA did. Is Leftwich going to suddenly start being a genius OC?
Time for a reality check. Our coaching is pitiful and our players are either hurt or playing like shyt. This team doesn’t deserve your support.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:28 am
The entire SB winning O/L returned last year and the running game was lousy. Same story this year so don’t place all the blame on the new O/L. Could the fact that setting up the run with the pass might be worth a try. If the Bucs continue to get stuffed when running on 1st down, then passing when it is 2 & 3 with a mile to go they will lucky to win 3 or 4 more games this season! Fix what you can fix and that is PLAY CALLING!!!!!
October 18th, 2022 at 7:32 am
The first 30 days didn’t show enough? He has to go and take 1/2 his staff with him. Who is the LB coach? How about you show White how to tackle. The ST’s coach should have been let go two seasons ago. No one but me mention the fact that BA stuck the Bucs with these guys. Hey, the Bucs forced Brady to play for them this season after he took the extension to help the team, not to mention he’s lost his wife. Do I believe he prepares as always absolutely but he may not want to do the work to prepare others when the coaches cannot. Bowels made it clear in a presser this is NOT Brady’s O it’s BL’s. How’s that working out???
#thxBAudic
October 18th, 2022 at 7:34 am
Last year if it was 4th Ave 1 we knew we could get that yard. That is not longer the case
October 18th, 2022 at 7:34 am
This is a lost season. No, it didn’t have be this way. Part of it is the huge ego of leadership types ( GM, HC, OC ); arrogance of players ( Devin “Bored” White ); not ready for prime time rookies ( ‘nuf sed ); naive ownership who could have intervened.
The result is a wasted season and reintroduction of the Yuccaneers. SMH
October 18th, 2022 at 7:52 am
Call me unimpressed with Bowles thus far. Feels like Jets 2.0. This team isn’t focused. Something needs to change quick.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:53 am
i think the next 3 weeks will show.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:55 am
Send Mike down the sideline , even if he is covered-MIKE IS OPEN-THROW MIKE THE DAMN BALL BRADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 18th, 2022 at 8:16 am
“Some, including Bucco Bruce Arians, believe coach Todd Bowles is a damn good head coach.”
Based on what? His .375 record with the Jets? If Trask was .375 would Joe be suggesting that he’s “damn good”?
October 18th, 2022 at 8:18 am
Listnfrmafar … ‘The Bucs forced Brady to play for them this season after he took the extension to help the team, not to mention he’s lost his wife’.
I hope you’re being sarcastic with that comment Listn. Bucs didn’t FORCE Brady to do anything; he’s The GOAT. And he certainly didn’t take ‘the extension to HELP THE TEAM’; it was an ‘ego thing’ pure & simple (plus he was under contract for 2022, so there’s no ‘extension’ involved). And as far as losing his wife goes, did he lose her or did he drive her away by deciding to ‘unretire’? And yes, neither one of us knows the answer to that; it’s not like the two of them haven’t pushed these buttons before.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:30 am
Why do people keep calling Brady “the GOAT”? Because he’s won more Super Bowls than anyone? That’s not a legitimate standard. Bart Starr won 5 NFL Championships with the Packers in the 60s – a record that stood for decades – and when Montana and Brady had 4 NFL Championships each (rebranded as “Super Bowls”), nobody called Starr “the GOAT”.
Football is a team sport, and Brady won 7 because he played on great teams with great players, many of whom are or will be Hall of Fame players.
To me, the real GOAT is someone who never played with a single Hall of Fame player on offense, and still took his team to 2 consecutive Super Bowls, winning 1 and losing the other because his defense failed the team. Favre.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:32 am
Farve as the GOAT, LOL! He had flippin Reggie White on his team! The best d linemen that ever played the game! His teams were STACKED with premiere talent. What has Brady’s old team done without him? Survey says…jack spit.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:37 am
Beano … Todd Bowles right now is playing the hand that he was dealt. There are multiple problems going on, most of which aren’t of his making. My gut feel is that BA & the Glazers are looking longer term than most JBFers seem to be.
Everyone hyped the Bucs as being a Super Bowl contender this season, primarily for 1 reason: Tom Brady, our 45-year-old QB. Oldest QB ever to play the game. Deadly accurate, but not very mobile (understatement). Without a very strong OLine & excellent weapons, he struggles just as much as any other QB would. Well, the OLine is not all that strong right now, and his weapons have been in-and-out all season. He’s ‘making do’ but barely (20 PPG is not setting the world on fire).
Bowles is an excellent teacher from all accounts. He’s seems to be very ‘even-keeled’ as they say, and I’m convinced that our pirate ship will need that after 2022 as we ‘go young’. He inherited a team (and a staff) that’s not too far removed from what Sean Payton LEFT in New Orleans. The Saints are going through similar trials & tribulations as the Bucs if you’ve noticed.
Lots of ‘fans’ are being very over-emotional right now. We pretty much KNOW what the problems are as we sit here 3-3. Fixing them at this point in the season won’t occur overnight; can’t just bring in a handful of new players and voila, we hit the jackpot. Or even bring in a new coaching staff and expect that they’ll turn things around.
We’re 3-3 with most of the hardest games of the season behind us. I have trouble seeing us doing much better than 10-7 this year, but that will HOPEFULLY be good enough to make the playoffs. After that, anything can happen as we saw in 2020.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:39 am
“Jeff Says:
Farve as the GOAT, LOL! He had flippin Reggie White on his team!”
You should have stayed in grade school and learned to read.
I said “the real GOAT is someone who never played with a single Hall of Fame player on OFFENSE.” Reggie White played DEFENSE.
Thanks for confirming Favre had not a single Hall of Fame player on offense. And by the way, his defenses had only 2 – Reggie White and Leroy Butler.
LMAO
October 18th, 2022 at 8:44 am
Mo Clyde Christiansen should not be offensive coordinator.
Between offensive and defensive fronts we have 3 rookies and 2 2nd year guys replacing perennial all pros.
It’s early but none of these 5 look like perennial pros in the making. Even if they get better, they need time we don’t have.
4 of those 5 all pros were free agents, but we hot zero from the free agent pool this year so far.
So we’re wasting tom brady unless some guys get healthy soon.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:46 am
“damn good head coached” yea right!
October 18th, 2022 at 8:47 am
beano, Farve is certainly the g o a t in one respect. He is the all-time interception leader. And that record will never be surpassed.
October 18th, 2022 at 8:48 am
Bowles is a great person but he’s not a head coach now or ever, Brady should have stayed retired, Leftwich is thinking about his next coaching gig, and too many others have their heads up their A–es!! I’m embarrassed for them especially when they keep serving up this kind of crap on the field !! Have been a Bucs fan since inception, but this is a total JOKE!! Bring back the no namers that had heart and left it on the field !!
October 18th, 2022 at 9:00 am
“Steven007 Says: beano, Farve is certainly the g o a t in one respect. He is the all-time interception leader.”
You mean like Babe Ruth is the all time strikeout leader?
Your response betrays an ignorance of the sport. Favre was a gunslinger, not a pretty boy dink and dunker like many of today’s QBs. And he had to be, as he was the only Hall of Famer on his side of the ball! Thanks for making my point!
October 18th, 2022 at 9:00 am
“Steven007 Says: beano, Farve is certainly the g o a t in one respect. He is the all-time interception leader.”
You mean like Babe Ruth is the all time strikeout leader?
Your response betrays an ignorance of the sport. Favre was a gunslinger, not a pretty boy dink and dunker like many of today’s QBs. And he had to be, as he was the only Hall of Famer on his side of the ball! Thanks for making my point!
October 18th, 2022 at 9:06 am
We will right the ship & be alright…. Trust TBBF…..the sky is not falling…..
My prediction is as sure as Byron Leftwich using correct English in his next presser.
October 18th, 2022 at 9:08 am
The next 90 days? We know all we need to know. There have all veterans on defense and no rookies either. His defense fell off as soon as Logan Ryan got injured. They need him desperately because devin white is no leader
October 18th, 2022 at 9:21 am
Beano, he is the GOAT because he went to 10 SB’s win 7, won 18 out if 22 division titles, mist passing yards, regular season and playoff wins with probably 4 at best HOF receivers. 5 championships is nothing Mahomes will have that before he is 30. You’re in the oneilsuckyall club. NO Brady NO SB, NO Brady NO NFC South title, NO Brady, NO Chance. Go get Roger’s or Wilson, how they doing? $50MM each. Blah, blah, blah.
October 18th, 2022 at 9:24 am
Bowles had a good first year as Jets HC. Then mistakes in drafting and free agency started to drag them down. Bowles did little to alleviate that.
I had thought the Jets were dysfunctional; but Bowles brought in some very fragile free agents with no back up plan behind them.
He has already done the same thing here (Hicks, Rudolph) and we already have dead spots on our roster.
Bowles is going to have to prove to me that he is worth being called a good coach. Pittsburgh, because of injuries ( and no one talks about the loss of T.J. Watts), was one of the worst teams we will face this season.
We know what happened there, the entire team failed to show up.
October 18th, 2022 at 10:09 am
Bowels is what his record says he is…awful.
The peter principal
October 18th, 2022 at 10:10 am
@Listnfrmafar:
Not “championships”. I said “NFL Championships”. The “Super Bowl” is just the rebranded name for the NFL Championship.
You haven’t explained why Bart Starr – when for many years he was the holder of 5 NFL Championships and the next highest were Bradshaw and Montana with 4 – was not then considered “the GOAT”? When did the standard for “GOAT” change from something else to “number of NFL Championships”? Was it done just for Brady? Looks like it!
4 HOF receivers for Brady (plus likely other HOFers at other offensive positions) is mathematically infinetely more than Favre had … 0.
Thanks for playing!
October 18th, 2022 at 10:13 am
Craig, how about losing as interim coach at Miami? DR, so you’re saying Brady didn’t extend his contract to free up cap space? I call BS. I also believe he retired in hopes the Bucs would sign someone else so he could go to Miami or wherever. Do you not recall BA saying they would release him for 5 1st rounders? Sounds like a hostage situation to me. He saw something in the Bucs organization he didn’t like.
October 18th, 2022 at 10:25 am
Craig … ‘Bowles brought in some very fragile free agents with no back up plan behind them.’
I’m assuming that you mean Jason Licht brought in those fragile free agents with no back up plan behind them. Not the HC’s job to stock the team, although I’m sure Bowles had an input.
October 18th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
Since Leftwich is far from command of the English language I would be very surprised if any team would hire such an uneducated-sounding person for their head coach. All else aside.
October 18th, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Bean, favre was a gunslinger and generally a good quarterback. Not one of the greats. And he has both the statistics and championships to back it up. He will always be the interception leader. And yes, if you want to use an outdated baseball comparison for football have at it.
October 18th, 2022 at 1:32 pm
By the way bean, Sterling Sharpe didn’t exactly suck.
October 18th, 2022 at 5:49 pm
The red pen story feels more and more believable these days…
October 18th, 2022 at 5:57 pm
Beano, once upon a time, Bart Starr was indeed considered to be the GOAT, deservedly. Along with Johnny Unitas, and many old timers before them also. The 1970s ushered in a different NFL culture and sports mediot emphasis. Over time, things like rules changes and statistical manipulation continued to obscure the achievements of past greats, while elevating “modern” stars.
Only a few contemporary QBs have been legitimately great by classic standards. Brady is one of them.
October 18th, 2022 at 7:01 pm
This team has been the same kinda mediocre all year long. So much of it is coaching. A rough game against the kittens should legitimately put Todd in the hot seat.
October 18th, 2022 at 9:52 pm
But Joe, Byron doesn’t target receivers, Brady does. And Brady is a master of taking what the defense gives him. If the defense doubled Evans all day, then who can blame Brady for only targeting him 4 times? Perhaps the real problem is a lack of other healthy receiving threats besides Evans? Or that the O line isn’t giving Evans enough time to get open?
October 18th, 2022 at 10:21 pm
He’ll get another year.
5-12
Might get another year.
3-14
Then fired. Along with everyone. The Glazers will hire a celebrity coich, like The Rock. Then we will be into the lost century, the longest demise yet in the Suckaneers tortured history.