What Todd Bowles Looks For In A Quarterback
March 5th, 2023
Preferred QB traits.
So the Bucs are looking for a quarterback to go along with Kyle Trask.
The word “compete” was thrown around a whole lot last Tuesday at the combine in Indianapolis when Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht and Bucs coach Todd Bowles spoke for roughly a combined hour.
It didn’t sound like Trask is being handed the job.
And to reinforce that the Bucs are seeking a quarterback, Licht and Bowles sat down together with this year’s hype video, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. (Nah-ah!)
So, since the Bucs will add two quarterbacks, either from the draft or free agency, what is Bowles looking for in a quarterback? He explained last week.
“Obviously intelligence, No. 1, ” Bowles said. “You don’t want to lose the games, so you’ve got to be smart …
“Intelligence, arm strength, how well you know your system and how well you can manage the game and get rid of the [ball], knowing when to take shots. You’ve got to have a lot of heart, obviously.
“There is going to be a time in the game where you’ve got to make plays. You’re not going to be just immune to everything. You try to make sure the guy is very intelligent and understands what happens around him.”
Intelligence is the key element for Bowles, it seems. Maybe that’s why he liked rotten Ryan Fitzpatrick?
Joe was hoping Bowles would say he looks for a guy with accuracy or a deep arm or a guy who can buy time in the pocket to throw.
Maybe Joe is reading this wrong but it seems Bowles is looking for a safe quarterback?
March 5th, 2023 at 8:04 am
Playing not to lose…yet losing anyway. Bowles you over with his brilliance…
I haven’t been this hopeful since year 2 of The Lovie Dovie Dynasty!
March 5th, 2023 at 8:17 am
No biskets for bowles he doesn’t like them.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:18 am
Sounds like Trask and certainly not AR15.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:20 am
Darn Joe at the end of this article you said basically what I was thinking. Besides intelligence I would like to see accuracy, decent with the deep ball and please please can run not necessary a speedster but able to pick up 3 or 4 on a run. Defensive Ends these days are running 4.5 and 4.8
March 5th, 2023 at 8:29 am
Bring in Stetson Bennet.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:29 am
Intelligence in the form of processing speed. If you can process quicker than most of the other guys (not sure that Fitzpatrick was quicker than others) and you have very good accuracy, you are going to succeed. He used his physical attribute of running to succeed as much as anything else. NOT his ability to process and pick his 2nd or 3rd receiving option.
It is probably why getting the right franchise QB is so hard. Despite all the obvious physical talents that Justin Herbert has, it is not his physical attributes.
He processes what is going on in the field of play better than Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:33 am
Quarterbacks who run are not long for the league. A quarterback must be a pocket passer who can also escape the pocket when protection breaks down but still takes care of the ball and takes care of himself. If he can still find a receiver great, otherwise throw it away or do the slide.
I am totally on board with Bowles on wanting a quarterback who is intelligent and who takes care of the ball. Never again should the Bucs draft or sign another turnover machine like Winston. Turnovers are death to offenses and to winning games.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:35 am
He’s just giving you words to write down. Don’t read too much into it.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:41 am
I prefer my quarterback to be a weenie armed idiot.
’tis the season for coach speak. Lol
March 5th, 2023 at 8:51 am
Bowles is a genius. A real football guru. What could go wrong?
March 5th, 2023 at 8:54 am
Why the hate for Fitzy. He’s the perfect example. Fitzy had a nice end to his career. Ended up starting everywhere he went. Winston had all the tools, just not the mental game. Brady had both.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:05 am
What Todd Bowles wants in a QB isn’t necessarily what the Bucs will get. I bet that the GM will make the final decision and while he certainly will listen to the HC he will get input from other coaches, his scouting dept personnel, and possibly even the Glazers if the QB in question will have a big impact on the salary cap.
That said, the attributes that Bowles is looking for could have described Tom Brady! Those ARE qualities any HC should want in a QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:06 am
Bowles likes ‘‘em round and juicy!
March 5th, 2023 at 9:23 am
So he wants the opposite of himself minded QB? Someone who can handle situations under pressure, excellent at game management and the balls to go for it. This guy wouldn’t know how to identify a quality QB if he was sitting on his face.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:28 am
Seems like bowels wants our quarterback to have situational awareness at all times, that’s what our new OC kept harping on too so hopefully we will be a smart football team. Adjusting the blocking assignments pre-snap to maximize protection was the most underrated skill Tom Brady had and I doubt our coaching staff can teach that ability to a quarterback
March 5th, 2023 at 9:34 am
The greatest intelligence QB of all time just retired, and you could only squeeze 8 wins out Todd
Okay….
March 5th, 2023 at 9:34 am
In other words, a defense-minded QB.
Bowles is pure fail.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:44 am
Carson Wentz scored a 40 on the wonderlic, but I have zero doubt that the new QB will be Brissett.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:44 am
“You don’t want to lose the games”
Todd’s mindset in a nutshell.
I guess “Keep slinging it” wont be any advice he gives lol
March 5th, 2023 at 9:48 am
Joe, Todd is about intelligence – think Tom Brady – He’s spot on in his assessment of what a quarterback should be – Ryan Fitzpatrick was smart, but was a gunslinger. Intelligence and understanding what a defense is doing was TB #1 attributes and he improved his other skills to become the G.O.A.T.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:55 am
This guy partially ruined the career of Sam Donald and it took about six years for Geno Smith to recover. Good luck to Trask or any other young QB that comes here. This guy is a backstabbing head coach as sure as I am writing this the quarterback will shoulder the blame for this upcoming season. That will buy Bowles another season.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:57 am
It’s tough to listen to Todd talk.
March 5th, 2023 at 10:07 am
LMAO. Bryce Young, who was listed at 6’0″ by Alabama, just measured 5’10” at the combine. Makes you wonder how tall Joe’s darling Caleb Williams – who is listed at 6’1″ – really is? 5’11”?
March 5th, 2023 at 10:09 am
Lets@ don’t forget he handed Brady his first loss when he was 218-0 leading by 10 going into the 4th qtr, he threw the Atlanta game giving him is first loss to Atlanta and first losing season and finally handed Brady his first loss to Dallas. There’s a LOT of LOSSES going on there, symbolic for a constant LOSER!!!
March 5th, 2023 at 11:08 am
For a guy who harbors in nicknames as much as the ex-president, I would think you could come up with a better one for Fitzpatrick then “rotten”. Rotten quarterbacks in my estimation don’t last in the league for multiple years. Even as backups. Not stars perhaps obviously, but rotten?!
Anyways, I think Bennett looked the best out of the quarterbacks yesterday that we have a reasonable chance for. All the top guys are out of reach and Richardson isn’t worth an early pick.
March 5th, 2023 at 11:27 am
If Bowles fails it’s on Bowles but BA (Mr.Nepotism) and Licht are also to blame. Why didn’t Licht or the Glazers insist on an independent head coach search after BA retired? Don’t tell me Brady was the reason.
March 5th, 2023 at 11:52 am
Answer I suppose is someone who can sit up, take nourishment, and hand the ball off. Sounds like #2 is the perfect fit.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:34 pm
For all the people who likes to label Todd Bowels and idiot of some sort. Looks around the room… you work for Denny’s or or Subway yet claim to understand a game in which you’ve never played or played well. Shut up and watch like everyone else. Thank you. Lesson from pops. You’re welcome!
March 5th, 2023 at 1:44 pm
Irish Tony@ because BA set it up that his retirement date was so late the only choices Bucs had was BA’s recommendations. Doug Peterson would have been nice. Tampa had to look more promising than the Jags. Not anymore.
March 5th, 2023 at 1:48 pm
@Goathumper
What year did UF reject you? Time to get over it, don’t ‘ya think?
March 5th, 2023 at 2:23 pm
I too am a member of The Trask Force…the tough talking/won’t back down bunch. Reason being I want the 5th time the Bucs had the #1 pick in the NFL Draft in 2024.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:56 pm
A game manager! YES!
March 5th, 2023 at 2:59 pm
This doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement of Trask. From what I’ve read about Trask since getting here is that he’s a very poor leader (I don’t care about that to be sure), and didn’t pick up the offense very quickly. Also he doesn’t have much of an NFL arm to power downfield throws, at least not naturally, maybe 2-years of learning how to throw NFL balls has helped him, but he hasn’t shown anything so far to make you think he’d be anything but the worst starting QB in the NFL.
But, since I want the team to tank anyways, they need to just stick with Trask. If he’s good, then fantastic, you got a QB. If he stinks, then fantastic, you got a top pick in 2024 when you take a QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:05 pm
Joe … ‘Maybe Joe is reading this wrong but it seems Bowles is looking for a safe quarterback?’
Interesting bottom line Joe. That one OPINION on your part pretty much guaranteed the negative comments on Bowles that were to follow. And even more interesting, you didn’t even have to define what a ‘safe’ QB looks like.
Was Tom Brady a ‘safe QB’? He rarely turned the ball over. Managed the game well. Was smart … and experienced.
How about Patrick Mahomes, is he a ‘safe QB’? Guy scrambles all over the place to keep the play alive, and ultimately finds someone open often enough to win a Super Bowl & make $50 mil a year. Got a hunch though (just a hunch) that Todd Bowles would take Patrick Mahomes as his QB in a heartbeat. Who wouldn’t?
And then you come to newbies like Kyle Trask & any rookie QB who we might draft. Are they ‘safe QBs’? Who knows at this point.
March 5th, 2023 at 5:42 pm
DR, but would Bowles want a Josh Allen a speciman who is pretty careless with the ball? There is only one Mahomes. It sounds like he wants a Jimmy G.
March 5th, 2023 at 5:59 pm
Bowles essentially said nothing in his word salad answer, which answers nothing. That could describe virtually any QB on the planet. I love “you don’t want to lose games”. There is his mentality in a nut shell (or nut sack).
The fact that no one has stated with confidence that Trask is the starter should be troubling to any Trask fan. Clearly, he hasn’t impressed enough, whether an issue with his mentals or physicals. Yes, in two years, he had plenty of opportunities to seize the job, even with Brady and Gabbert around. If he had that kind of talent, it would have shown. That said, he deserves the chance right now.
As for what Bowles loves in a QB. Go back and find the quotes about how much he loves Blaine Gabbert, “one of his favorite guys”, “so tough, so smart”, etc. etc. Gabbert really is what Bowles wants. Keep that in mind. Let’s see who ultimately decides the direction of the offense, between him and Rah Rah Canales.
March 6th, 2023 at 6:49 am
There goes the liar again, Rod “I hate all Gators” Munch, repeating his lies again and again, as if doing so will make them true. Read on:
Rod Munch: “Trask didn’t pick up the offense very quickly.”
Bucs QB Coach Clyde Christensen: “He PICKED IT UP PRETTY DARN QUICKLY. He’s a SMART KID who KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING. I like where he’s at. He DOES A LOT OF GOOD STUFF RIGHT NOW TO BE THIS EARLY.”
—
Rod Munch: “Trask doesn’t have much of an NFL arm.”
Bucs Coach Bruce Arians: “We’re in good hands with Kyle Trask. He’s got all the size, HE’S GOT THE ARM, he’s got the stature of what we like. And he’s mobile.”
NFL.Com Scouting Report: “TRASK CLEARLY HAS THE ARM STRENGTH. CAN DELIVER DEEP THROWS WITH OUTSTANDING TOUCH. ARM STRENGTH TO WHIP FIELD-SIDE DEEP OUTS WITH NO ISSUES. CAN ATTACK ONE-ON-ONES AND PLACE DEEP THROW WHERE IT NEEDS TO GO.”
—
Rod Munch: “From what I’ve read about Trask since getting here is that he’s a very poor leader.”
I’ve followed Trask since he was recruited by Florida and have never, ever read that. Do you have a link? No, Rod, your FSU fanboi club doesn’t count.