Todd Bowles: Rust Was A Factor For Ben Bredeson And Graham Barton
October 1st, 2025
A month practicing and playing out of position comes with a price.
That was the message yesterday from the Bucs head coach on his Buccaneeers Radio Network show. (Joe listens on SiriusXM.)
Against the Eagles, Graham Barton moved back to center after three games covering for Tristan Wirfs at left tackle. Ben Bredeson went back home to left guard following three games at center for Barton.
Todd Bowles said the re-transition wasn’t perfectly smooth.
“From an energy standpoint, I thought it was great for [Wirfs] to come back and then put everybody else back at their positions. But they’ve been away from their positions for quite a while,” Bowles said. “So they’re really back at their old positions but they’re new positions.
“That takes some getting used to as well. So hopefully this week everybody will settle in and we’ll be able to look like we used to look.”
This could be an explanation for the offense scoring just six points on their first six drives against the Eagles.
October 1st, 2025 at 9:58 am
todd should spend more time coaching and less time making excuses on every media platform he can find.
October 1st, 2025 at 9:59 am
OK, so when they were out of position, it causes a problem. When they’re back in position, it causes a problem. Have I got that right?
October 1st, 2025 at 10:01 am
Put Elijah Klein in at right guard. Let’s see what he can do. Luke Haggard was underwhelming versus the Eagles.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:11 am
Maybe we shouldn’t have played musical chairs with the O line? If you’re backup LT isn’t good enough to play maybe he shouldn’t be on the team? This season might turn into a cluster f#ck.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:12 am
Jimmy really thinks Todd is like leaving practice early to go onto his (likely contractually obligated) media spots. Absolutely silly.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:15 am
6 points on their first 6 drives. Wow. Well I’m sure everything is going to be fixed for the Seattle game right? Right?
October 1st, 2025 at 10:19 am
Bredeson sort of admitted this to Joe last week. Seems reasonable.
These guys aren’t PlayStation video game robots.
Put the guy here, put the guy there, put the guy back over here. Works in Madden!
October 1st, 2025 at 10:22 am
Nice excuse. Of course no Eagles were rusty.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:25 am
Does Jimmy understand Todd can’t coach while doing his league-mandated media responsibilities?
October 1st, 2025 at 10:30 am
At least for the first game, I kind of agree with the poster from above. They rearrange their whole entire line because one tackle was missing. If your backup isn’t good enough to back up the starter, what’s the point?
All offseason, there sure was a lot of 17-0, Super Bowl, Sirvocea and Braswell are great.. yada yada. I knew it was short sighted.
And now, like every year, Todd does what he does. Sometimes he just likes to say words.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:31 am
Joe, that’s why you have backups. Dumb shuffling the starters, what happened to next man up? If your backups aren’t good enough to backup, why are they on the team?
October 1st, 2025 at 10:31 am
I think we have to give the coaching staff a little grace. This has been a very difficult start to the season with all the unprecedented injuries and additions to that list each week. They are constantly having to readjust the roster, moving guys around moving players back and forth from the practice squad and then game plan to compensate for all the changes. Not an enviable task. Different players to have to plug in with different skill sets. Will Wirfs and Godwin be ready to play? Then be ready in a few days to put out a winning caliber roster and game plan. Add to that miserable special teams play going immediately in the hole with a blocked pick six punt. Just some things to keep in mind before we throw the whole staff under the bus and drive them out of town.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:32 am
He’s not making excuses. He already said that you can’t turn the ball over three times and win against the Super Bowl champs. To say nothing of the one-sided officiating. Switching from left tackle to center is not just physical, it’s mental because you have to make line calls.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:38 am
a steady stream of excuses from todd and a steady stream of apologists for the excuses. the problem with the bucs “culture” is accountability. walk throughs instead of practice. media instead of practice. meetings instead of firings.
did they do anything to fix anything or just fling out another round of rotten meat for the apologists to munch on til the next loss? any punters work out?
October 1st, 2025 at 10:50 am
@Jimmy SYBAU
October 1st, 2025 at 10:57 am
Are any of the commenters above listening to yourselves humping on Bowles for making ‘excuses’? Duh, we went 3-0 in the first 3 games with a incredibly makeshift OLine … nobody was in the regular position.
And Baker only got sacked 8 times in these first 4 games. I would’ve expected 2 maybe 3 times that many sacks.
TB simply stated what most who’ve ever played sports would understand. As Joe wrote … ‘A month practicing and playing out of position comes with a price’. Not rocket science.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:08 am
Defense rules I think it’s pointless even giving those people attention. Most of them probably never even made a football team in their life. Exactly like you said most who played sports wouldn’t understand that you can’t just practice one thing for weeks and magically switch to a completely different position also they seem to think that a good football team in the nfl wins every game college blowout style and nfl coaches need an .800 career record to be a good coach
October 1st, 2025 at 11:09 am
I’m sorry most who played sports would understand
October 1st, 2025 at 11:15 am
We were 3-0, now 3-1. If we have our usual October swoon, and go 3-4 we’ll see the pitchforks really come out.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:15 am
DR they would have had a lot more sacks if Baker wasn’t as mobile as he is he definitely got beat up last few weeks.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:18 am
DR
Quality of opponent in those first three games along with the manner in which we won them does have SOME weight.
Those of us who did play sports recognize that going forward, those kinds of wins will be fewer and farther between.
Again, if your backup, who WEEKS to prepare, isn’t good enough what’s the point of having a back up? WEEKS to work up something to fill ONE spot. Instead, we get a last-minute seat to your pants change. That’s on coaching.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:38 am
Barton isn’t a very good center. He looked like himself out there.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:49 am
you would swear the Bucs were 1-3 with all the negativity.
October 1st, 2025 at 11:52 am
Mark … ‘Barton isn’t a very good center.’
Putting Bredeson at Center was an interesting move; he handled that very well IMO. Barton’s an OK backup LT, but I wouldn’t want to see him there full time (Wirfs owns that LT position now).
But trying Barton at one of the Guards MAY be a worthwhile experiment for a bit this season. If Bredeson moved to Center, we’ve gotta fill both Guard positions (hopefully RT Goedeke comes back in at least right after the BYE, if not a game or 2 sooner).
I liked how Guard Michael Jordan played, but I guess he’s down for awhile with injury too (currently on the Practice Squad). Feeney & Klein are both Guards, as are Opeta & Scott (both on the Practice Squad also). So we’ve got some guys to pick from; just need one of them to beat his way to the front of the pack.
October 1st, 2025 at 12:32 pm
LOL…
folks wanted to give Kevin Carberry when we we’re 3-0….
1 loss and folks are blaming bowles for the oline lol….
its almost comical at this point lol…
GO BUCS!!!!
October 1st, 2025 at 12:33 pm
Fully understand.
October 1st, 2025 at 12:46 pm
I guess it is easier to be negative than positive. The way you all talk the Bucs must be 1-3 not 3-1 with the only loss is to the super bowl champs. In a game where are down numerous starters and had 3 turnovers. Stop the whining girls. Didn’t know we were supposed to go 17-0.
October 1st, 2025 at 1:26 pm
Bucboi
It’s not the one loss, it’s the tired excuses, lack of action on fixing the ST, not making a move or at least calling out Sirvocea Dennis for straight sucking, after talking all camp about how awesome he was . It’s also the very real set up for a classic Bowles slump is on the horizon.
Sounds like the same tune from the last 4 years when we’ve started relatively well only to go in the tank for a while.
Get back to me in three weeks…
Point still remain. There were weeks and weeks to get someone to fill ONE position on the line, instead of wrecking the continuity.
October 1st, 2025 at 1:59 pm
Another reason why i wanted to see Wirfs at RT….its all good though, we’ll get back to form.
October 1st, 2025 at 2:28 pm
That is exactly why it was best to put them all back to their original positions like they did. They need time to get the rust off and gel. Putting Wirfs at RT would have been ridiculously stupid.
It was obvious Godwin had rust as well. The drops by Egbuka were surprising.
October 1st, 2025 at 2:51 pm
@David
Agreed, no need to further over complicate things, just get us back as close to normal as possible. Partly because we need to be better in the trenches to max out the talent on offense. The other part is because I want to see how good of an OC Grizzard can be, and fellow fans have been using the OL as a cop out for some things it doesn’t matter who we have and don’t have, especially in the sequencing department. I can’t even think of our last play action pass or what game it came in,
October 1st, 2025 at 3:08 pm
Barton sure sounded halfway decent playing center when he was a rookie. And, as I recall, the Bucs didn’t play a cupcake schedule.
October 1st, 2025 at 3:36 pm
Klein was a draft pick. I guess he hasn’t shown enough in practice to get the start.
We will need to find a RG.
Mauch isn’t coming back guys.
And Haggard and Klein aren’t cutting it.
Maybe Heck can slide to RG when Goedeke returns.
October 1st, 2025 at 3:42 pm
6’ 8” at guard? You better get Bake a step stool.
October 1st, 2025 at 3:44 pm
Just read somewhere that Heck has given up 18 QB pressures in 3 games.
Seems like a lot.
October 1st, 2025 at 4:12 pm
Is Opeta still recovering from injury? Someone has to be better than Haggard. I’d rather see Klein getting snaps than Haggard. Grizz is doing a good job of patching things together despite the injuries. We had several chances to win that game. The Bucky ” fumble” and Baker int sealed our fate. Offense should be OK if Bucky isn’t out too long. Bowles has to make a coaching change on ST. They’ve been awful for years. Now they’re beyond awful.
October 1st, 2025 at 10:31 pm
Yeah Mr. Bowels has rust since he was Jets coach and still can’t shake it off. Mr. B definitely a top 5-10 defensive coordinator but not a coach. Just imagine what his record would be without Brady and Baker??? He wouldn’t even be coaching today. Also IDK what the real story is why they let Cohen go to Jacksonville because I’m not buying their story. Cohen should of been the coach and if he was I guarantee you BUCS would of been undefeated and won the Superbowl. Mr. B couldn’t built a team in NY and like I said if it wasn’t for Brady/Baker/Evans/Godwin his record in Tampa would of been like 7-64. But he’s definitely a top 5 defensive coordinator. and the eagles should be 0-4. Heard they was holding Bucs receivers the whole game. What a SAD way to win games.