Todd Bowles Said He Likes Bucs’ Depth At Inside Linebacker
June 3rd, 2025
Confident.
What has been a disconnect between the Bucs and fans — not just Bucs fans but NFL fans — is now a full-blown major disconnect.
At inside linebacker after the great Lavonte David, there is who exactly at inside linebacker? Let’s dig in.
A talented guy who has missed 17 games with injuries in his two NFL seasons (SirVocea Dennis), a guy the Dolphins washed their hands of (Anthony Walker) and a 30-year old well-traveled veteran (Deion Jones).
Other than 35-year old team icon David, that lineup is not exactly what a team wants to highlight in a season-ticket marketing campaign.
One thing has been clear to Joe: The Bucs either really believe they have the winning formula at inside linebacker or they have done a superb job of selling the notion they are just fine.
Shoot, virtually everyone and their brother believed the Bucs were going to draft an inside linebacker at No. 19 in the draft. That should tell folks the public perception of that position on the Bucs’ roster.
Joe has spoken with suits and Bucs coaches, privately and on the record. Their message(s) have been very consistent: The Bucs are good at inside linebacker.
If you really twist some Bucs-types’ arms, maybe they will suggest the Bucs added by subtracting. OK.
Well, today at One Buc Palace after underwear football, Todd Bowles really pushed his poker chips to the middle of the table. When asked to cite the positions on the team with the most depth, on defense Bowles didn’t blink an eye.
Bowles said flat out inside linebacker was the deepest position on the defensive roster.
“I like the depth of where the inside ‘backers are right now,” Bowles said.
Better than defensive interior line? Better than corners, which is now a deep position?
That selling point is going to be hard for Bucs fans to choke down.
Joe doesn’t think any Bucs fan believes SirVocea Dennis is a bad player. Fans are nutso fed up with Jamel Dean missing so much time and Dean looks like an iron horse of stability compared to Dennis.
Yeah, Joe gets that, allegedly, an injured shoulder Dennis has been dealing with since his Pitt days has supposedly been resolved through surgery. But has he tried to tackle Bijan Robinson with that surgically rebuilt shoulder yet? Or Saquon Barkley? Or Breece Hall?
And the reality is Dennis hasn’t missed 17 games in his two-year NFL career only because of his bum shoulder. No matter how you slice it, that is a helluva gamble banking on Dennis to be on the field, say, 15-16 games this fall.
Joe hopes he is (there’s that ugly word again, “hope”) but until Dennis demonstrates he can do it, he hasn’t.
As for Jones, Bowles raved about him today. Recent history suggests he’s no more than a backup. Buffalo cut him last August and he languished on the Bucs’ practice squad until January.
Did it look to you like the Bucs had Jack Ham playing next to Lavonte David preventing the Bucs from promoting Jones to the active roster?
Walker started eight games for the Dolphins last year, missing three with hamstring and knee injuries. Meh.
Joe sure hopes all the people at One Buc Palace, including Bowles, are seeing something Bucs fans aren’t. Because if the Bucs are right, this defense could be damn stingy.
June 3rd, 2025 at 4:46 pm
LOL more brainwashing from Dr Bowles.
June 3rd, 2025 at 4:54 pm
I agree Joe, I hope the ILBs can be available every game but I won’t believe it until I see it. I get where the Bucs are coming from though, you aren’t replacing David and Dennis has shown flashes of being very good. So if they both avoid injury you have very good starters and I would say experienced backups.
June 3rd, 2025 at 4:55 pm
Dean and Dennis look good in training camp but are availability liabilities when the season starts. I don’t think the team did enough to injury proof this position.
June 3rd, 2025 at 5:38 pm
ILB doesn’t worry me. Between Dennis and Walker they should be fine. DL has like no real quality depth.
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:12 pm
One position group this team seems to be good at developing are linebackers. I guess Bowles is taking a wait and see approach. If the defensive line can get some pressure this year. That will take a lot of pressure off the linebackers and secondary. That’s the only thing I can think of. Maybe this team thinks the defense is going to have a couple break out players. Like Diaby, Cancey, Izien and Braswell. Hopefully Dennis can stay healthy. Then adress the linebackers in the draft next year. This team is a couple defensive players from being a real super bowl contender.
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:15 pm
Bowles is outside of his mind.
The middle of the defense is soft as butter.
And nothing was done to bolster it.
Propaganda only works on the weak.
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:34 pm
Bowles isn’t worried because his base defense will now be a 5-1-5.
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:39 pm
The thing about pushing fake narratives down fans’ throats is, DON’T DO IT. Especially when the fans already know the narrative is BS. Doesn’t tend to work out well in the end for the pushers of said narratives. Be smarter Coach. If the LB room had a theme song for this upcoming season, at this point in time, it’d be “Living on a prayer.”
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:40 pm
When Evans went down with a hamstring vs Ravens he missed the rest of that game and the next 3 games. They lost Godwin for the season that same game.
Bucs went 0-4 during that stretch.
Bucs were right to draft a receiver in the 1st round.
June 3rd, 2025 at 6:44 pm
Did it look to you like the Bucs had Jack Ham playing next to Lavonte David preventing the Bucs from promoting Jones to the active roster?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I thought Deion Jones was on i.r. last season.
June 3rd, 2025 at 7:04 pm
Better to be silent and have people think you a fool………
June 3rd, 2025 at 7:48 pm
“there’s that ugly word again, “hope””
“Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
Courtesy of Stephen King via “Shawshank Redemption”
June 3rd, 2025 at 7:52 pm
I’m a little surprised but I find it reassuring.
Interview with Todd was interesting – people should check it out 👍🏼
June 3rd, 2025 at 8:14 pm
1. They’re better off than where they were at this point last year.
2. They have 2 experienced veterans as backups.
It’s not terrible, especially if Voss stays healthy.
June 3rd, 2025 at 8:32 pm
stpetebucsfan, if attitude is everything, and I believe it is, then you have everything. Appreciate every post you make.
June 3rd, 2025 at 9:15 pm
I have a hunch that one of two things is going on right now with the Bucs defense (maybe both). #1, they are cross training some of the safeties to play linebacker – we have plenty of them – especially nickel LBs. #2, they are going to play a heck of a lot more dime than they have in the past and Bowles is relying (hoping/praying) their 4-man pass rush really is much improved this year.
I truly believe the Bucs defense will be tweaked in a major way this season and you will not see the soft zone, everyone open in the middle coverage you saw the last couple of years.
June 3rd, 2025 at 9:31 pm
We do have 2 studs (LVD & SVD ) and 1 proven stud in the past who is still only 30 (Deion Jones) and I’d say Walker is the only truly unknown talent out of those 4 guys.
The other 3 could be All-Pro’s this year possibly, if they play up to their full potential.
June 3rd, 2025 at 9:42 pm
I knew we were good when we went CB 2nd and 3rd. Maybe we get that dog out of Georgia next draft.
June 3rd, 2025 at 10:17 pm
In addition to HR, Todd is known for his comedy.
Fielding a competent pass defense, not so much. After what everyone saw last year, this is hilarious humor.
June 3rd, 2025 at 10:38 pm
With the NFL turning ever more to the pass, and from Bowles’s confidence in the current crew, unless the Bucs are playing a team with a monster ground and pound ground game, the team is currently built to ideally start Diaby, Kancey, Vea, Hall and Reddick as the front five, David as the blitzing/run stopping ILB, and whichever DBs end up as the starters in the Nickle package.
So, maybe the Bucs have enough depth after all if they are planning to just play one ILB with David and Dennis rotating.
June 3rd, 2025 at 10:52 pm
Bowles is just pumping them up. He knows there has to be a weakest link and maybe he’s trying some reverse psychology.
June 3rd, 2025 at 11:03 pm
When I played we played a 5-3-3 defense predominantly. A NT, 2 DTs, and 2 defensive ends. 2 OLBs, 1 middle linebacker, 2 corners and a safety. Linebackers had their reads and covered flats and screens. A simpler game back then. Of course it helped that most teams didn’t throw the ball more than 10-12 times a game.
June 3rd, 2025 at 11:44 pm
Kenton Smith – LOL brother. Sounds like you played when the face mask was optional! Very cool you had that opportunity and experience. Would be great for Todd to be right – but then it shouldn’t have been the giant sucking quicksand hole that it was last year., only to suddenly be the deepest group on the team.
June 4th, 2025 at 3:12 am
Deion Jones looked great against the Redskins in the playoffs.
He made a huge play on our goal-line stand before the Baker fumble.
I think Deion Jones has a huge chip on his shoulder.
And I think he will surprise a lot of people this year!
June 4th, 2025 at 9:47 am
If SVD can stay on the field, all will be fine! If not. .we’ll see.
June 4th, 2025 at 10:37 am
@Kenton
THX! I have a t shirt on right now that says “Gratitude is my Attitude”.
I have a ton of T’s with positive sayings and affirmations and I rarely go out in public without someone saying, “Hey I like your tshirt”. People are getting burnt out on all the division and negativity. I guess it’s up to we old farts to keep positivity alive.
June 4th, 2025 at 12:02 pm
I watched the interview where he gave this comment, I assumed the answer was todds attempt at humor not an actual answer.
June 5th, 2025 at 9:50 am
Man what is Todd Bowles talking about.
We shoulda went inside linebacker in the first round.
Still can’t believe Todd Bowles passed on Sheduer Sanders cmon man. Really ???
Any major injuries this team is gonna be toasted