Todd Bowles: Just Don’t Blame The Running Backs
January 19th, 2023
Missed in running game?
The Bucs were downright pitiful running the ball this season.
Worst in the NFL in yards per carry at 3.4 yards. That’s worse than lousy Lovie Smith’s Texans and worse than the Commandos.
It was the worst season for yards per carry for the Bucs since 2019, when Mr. Entertainment, America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, was third on the team in rushing with 250 yards.
At Todd Bowles’ season-ending press conference on Tuesday, he said there is plenty of blame to go around for the run game, not just the running backs.
“I think anytime you are the worst in the league it’s a combination of everything,” Bowles said. “There is no one thing that you can point to, to say we weren’t good in the running game. We just weren’t good in the running game.
“We will look at the tape, we will re-evaluate everything and we will make those decisions going forward of why we had such a bad thing. We try to do that weekly, but we will do that yearly as a staff and we will go from there.”
Yeah, Joe knows folks love to stomp their feet and holler how the offensive line is the root of all evil, yet the Bears led the NFL in yards per carry. And if you try to tell Joe the Bears had a better offensive line than the Bucs, you need another Bromosa. Or several more.
But this did make Joe wonder if the Bucs were nearly this bad in 2019 with Ali Marpet and a healthy Ryan Jensen, well, did Jensen’s absence and the loss of his contagious attitude really drag down the running game that badly?
Small sample size: The only game Jensen started was Monday’s playoff loss to the Cowboys. The Bucs averaged 4.3 yards per carry.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:04 am
I still think Rashaad White is going to be a good RB once we get a real OC.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:15 am
No one is blaming the backs, Todd.
Tne blame is on you & your boy Byron
Now please, shut up. Your words carry zero weight. Its hard to take a proven loser seriously
January 19th, 2023 at 8:21 am
STOP already Bowles. The talent is there – the coaching sucks. Unprepared, failure to adjust, zero imagination and so on and so on.
Exhibit 1: @ Pittsburgh. Exhibit 2: The mistake by the lake; aka @ Cleveland Exhibit 3. Dallas. Exhibit 4: The rest of the season with the exception of two games.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:23 am
I don’t know who is talking to because the fans don’t blame anybody but him and that crappy staff he have.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:23 am
Exactly what is Bowles going to find reviewing tape at the end of the year? He had tape every week of the season and nothing changed. How about them running the same plays, from the same sets over and over and over? There wasn’t a team that we played that didn’t know what we were running and where. Pretty easy to defend. If I knew 70% of the plays from my couch, do you think that maybe a DC would see the same thing? Watch our running attack increase dramatically if we just loose Leftnut and Bowles and get someone who actually schemes a running attack. All these guys have been blocking running plays since Pop Warner and suddenly forgot what they were doing? Go “ study” your film in some other city.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:24 am
it is ALL part of the problem… the OL (injuries and poor play), HORRIBLY predictible run plays (I’ll take UP THE MIDDLE for 500 Alex), and hesitant, easily tackled RBs, with VERY little play action = worst in NFL rushing.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:25 am
Running the ball in the NFL is 90% scheme and 10% on the players.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:25 am
Sounds like he is selling his song and dance for another…. I can’t type it
Grrrrrr..
January 19th, 2023 at 8:31 am
I wonder if the silence and slow rolling coming out of One Buc (Glazer wise)is because they are putting together some blockbuster coaching package? Doubtful, but I sure hope so.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:33 am
I’m beginning to think that this coaching staff can not scheme a running game. The Raiders have one of the worst oline’s in football, but they run it on everyone. It seems the Bucs just run up the middle.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:33 am
Come on, Joe…..let’s be real…..Justin Fields rushed for 1142 yards this year for an average of 7.1 per carry…….Brady rushed for like minus 1 yard.
I agree that the rush game is horrible….but let’s not us the Bears as an example.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:42 am
What nprbuc already said. How does a coach with a full year of watching the tape of your run game suck, not have enough data/info to make a determination as to the where’s and the who’s of the root problem(s)? He has ringside seats. He has complete access. He has every tool available. And this is all he has determined…
See, this is why I don’t believe Bowles is capable of leading this team as a HC; its just a different level than his normal operating range.
This isn’t good.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:49 am
Nah, Toad, we don’t just blame the running backs.
We blame you.
A whole season and nothing changed. Two statistical outliers, one was game 1 and no one had seen this incarnation of frankenstein, The second was when Pete Carroll was sure we wouldn’t even try to run and obviously dumb luck (that’s the Bmoron guy) called some runs that worked.
Otherwise what are you doing all year? Making sure that Brady doesn’t want to be a Buc anymore? I believe you succeeded. Congratulations.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:52 am
We knew th ol was a weakness before the season…yet they did away with the risk it buscuit…… all on bowels and lefty.
January 19th, 2023 at 8:53 am
Bowls Babblerapping again.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:01 am
Crap runs uphill — and it’s all on Bowles…….the crap starts and stops with him…..should be shown the door.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:07 am
C’mon Joe. What NFL team DOESN’T know the Bucs run up the gut on every 1st down??
January 19th, 2023 at 9:07 am
Have pity on the Bucs fans, Todd.
You havn’t accepted reality and apologized to the Tampa Bay region for all of your shortcomings as HC. Have you said “things are gonna change”. Have you said “I promise, I’ll make this team play harder every week than the week before”. No, all you do is stand on the sidelines having no interaction with your other coaches or players. You are basically unapproachable to your own staff during games. No one can come to you and say, “this isn’t working, whats the backup plan?”
’23 will be more of the same. The Glazers know that offense sells tickets and gets ratings. No one wants to watch a slow old plodding team that can’t break 15 points in the modern game where WR’s are protected and the rules favor them.
But you have to try to score more points. Instead, you punt the ball on 4th and short when you are on the other side of the field. You don’t spread the field, you constantly call sideway passes and you play over-the-hill RB and TE with no speed.
Lets get some energy back on this team. If John Lynch can be the GM that he has become, what about putting Ronde Barber as the face of the Bucs? He certainly could do better than what we have now.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:09 am
I don’t blame the running backs. They were constantly mauled behind the line of scrimmage.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:12 am
This team was a cluster fcccck. The line as a unit sucked. Talent is great but for O lines it’s about playing as a unit. Brady had average talent O lines his whole career in NE. You know what wasn’t average. Dante Scarneccia and the scheme. This team had too many issues on O. Dropped passes near tops in the league. Drive killing penalties. You put the most disciplined QB of all time in the most undisciplined Offense I’ve seen in a long time and this is what you get. Yes injuries played a part but just lack of discipline killed the O. This is not new. Remember the first 8 games of 2020. Add horrible sequencing of plays by Leftwitch and you get a perfect storm. Scientific name. Clusterus fucckus.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:13 am
This is a passing league now I guess the game has just passed Bowles by so to speak.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:15 am
Excellent post Ed.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:15 am
While it’s not gospel, per Pff out of 42 RBs, White and Fournette were the bottom 2 in yards after contact. They are definitely part of the problem along with the crappy run scheme and bad blocking. Todd of course is clueless.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:25 am
Total blame should be on Bowles and Leftwich!!!!! When something is broke you fix it!!! They did not!!! They pretended everything will get better next week!!! Because of that thinking there is no next week!!!!!!! THEY ARE LOSERS!!! FIRE THEM BOTH!!! HIRE GOOD COACHES BEFORE THE GOOD ONES ARE GONE!!!! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 9:28 am
Does Bowles and Leftwich except responsibility for being losers??????
January 19th, 2023 at 9:32 am
I’m not watching another game next year. TB12 will leave this dumpster fire clown show, and who could blame him? Complete malpractice. I attended that “playoff game” until the bitter end. Had the vibe and feel of 86-89 Buc football.
CLEAN HOUSE!!!!
What I’m saying is absolute fact. Indisputable.
Also Brady played like crap half the time this year. His head and heart weren’t in it.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:33 am
Glazers: Mr. Brady, who do you want your head coach and offensive coordinator to be in 2023?
Tom: (says names)
Glazers: OK. Jason, make it happen. Now, Mr. Brady, what about your offensive line? Who do we keep, who do we change out?
Tom: (says names)
Glazers: OK. Jason, make it happen. Now, Mr. BRady, what kind of contract do you need?
Tom: (says dollars and duration)
Glazers: OK. Jason, make it happen.OK, Mr. Brady, you will not be allowed to leave the building until we have your signature on the contract.
January 19th, 2023 at 9:37 am
rachaad white was just ok this year……………..just okay
when he conte’d that guy in germany that was cool tho
January 19th, 2023 at 9:38 am
Goatfarmer, I like how you think!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 9:44 am
“We will look at the tape, we will re-evaluate everything and we will make those decisions going forward of why we had such a bad thing. We try to do that weekly, but we will do that yearly as a staff and we will go from there.”
How appropriate is it that I copied and pasted this comment from Bowles?
He has copied and pasted this comment (minor variations) all year!
At what point does he intend to make ANY changes based on his study of the film?
Instead of his stubborn insistence that what he’s doing is right, regardless of consistent failure.
Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
Please, Please, PLEASE, let us put Bowles in our rear view mirror!
January 19th, 2023 at 10:04 am
We had the worst line in football
For some reason people on this site don’t see that if you cant run or the qb doesn’t have time that it’s not the backs or TB12s fault Or the coaches fault
It at the feet of the gm
Now the guy that created the problem will go fix it……….
January 19th, 2023 at 10:18 am
The only thing I noticed missing from the RB room this year was a burner, was speed. Our backs were serviceable and probably could’ve gotten a team average of around 4.0 YPC but only if there weren’t so many TFL’s and hits behind our LOS.
Very rarely, maybe 1/20 running plays per game did the backs ever hit the 2nd level relatively untouched! The eye test showed, all year long, the line wasn’t good enough in run game, and that’s what needs to be fixed – better blocking in this scheme used. I suppose a discussion of needing another run scheme/philosophy is in order, but I wonder if this coaching staff is capable?
Wait, don’t answer that…
January 19th, 2023 at 10:31 am
When the RB’s get caught in the backfield right after handoff and before they even take the first step we know where the blame lies. I wish Bowles would just shut the hell up and prepare for next season’s losing campaign. One more year then the Glazers will finally fire his sorry azz.
Good Bowles = Loser.
January 19th, 2023 at 11:02 am
What is he talking about??? NOW he wants to evaluate the problem. Vlown show!!!
January 19th, 2023 at 12:13 pm
WHILE LEFTWICH AND BOWLES DESERVE SOME BLAME, THE MAJORITY OF BLAME NEEDS TO BE GIVEN TO ARIANS