Todd Bowles: Bucs Missed Five Sacks
December 1st, 2025
YaYa Diaby (0) and Vita Vea (50) close in on Arizona QB Jacoby Brissett.
Is Todd Bowles getting fed up with the glorified quarterback pressures?
Regular readers know Joe doesn’t believe in pressures. But Joe very much believes in sacks. And today in his day-after presser at One Buc Palace, Bowles admitted his pass rushers “got back there” but Bowles was irked they didn’t get Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett on the ground yesterday.
And yes, “got back there” would mean a quarterback pressure and “on the ground” means sacks.
How refreshing!
“As a pass rush group, I thought we got back there quite a bit,” Bowles said. “I thought we missed quite a bit of [potential sacks]. But we did get back there and put pressure on, Haasan [Reddick] included.
“I thought [Reddick] did well for his first game back, but we got to get [the quarterback] on the ground. We missed about five of them where we could have had him on the ground.”
Man, had the Bucs gotten seven sacks (the Bucs had two), that may have been reason enough for the City of Tampa to declare today a citywide holiday and throw a parade down Dale Mabry Highway!
Joe just found it very interesting that Bowles seemed more interested in sacks than almost-sacks (pressures). If so, what a breath of fresh air!
December 1st, 2025 at 2:24 pm
With Reddick back we def get more pressure. So far we have beat who we are suppose to be beat and we are 3-5 vs teams with 7 wins or more.
December 1st, 2025 at 2:26 pm
Sacks have finality.
Pressures influence the play with mixed outcomes, including interceptions.
Sometimes pressures have a superior result than a sack.
Nuance
December 1st, 2025 at 2:29 pm
Doesn’t matter. What’s he done since he’s been Double Coach that would coach up his pass rushers to actually get the QB on the ground? Vita is our best pass rusher. Maybe giving your pass rushers orders that their job is to rush the passer and not cover ghosts in the flat would be a nice start. But naa, Todd can’t and won’t affect the pass rushers results. He’ll just talk more about execution and stuff.
December 1st, 2025 at 2:31 pm
I guess because of the pressure on Brissett he didn’t complete 100% of his passes only 72.5% were complete. Wow keep up the pressure and only a couple sacks. Winning formula for sure.
December 1st, 2025 at 2:34 pm
They lead the NFL in “almost sacks”! Quite remarkable! Lol
December 1st, 2025 at 2:34 pm
The Bucs do not tackle, nor do they wrap up after a hit
December 1st, 2025 at 2:35 pm
The Bucs do not tackle, nor do they wrap up after a hit
December 1st, 2025 at 2:37 pm
would be that if and buts were candy and nuts, the Bucs would have a merry Christmas
December 1st, 2025 at 2:37 pm
Simple check downs gain 15 yards against this defense far too often
December 1st, 2025 at 2:42 pm
From what i saw yesterday, Reddick was very slow, and effort was not there.
December 1st, 2025 at 2:42 pm
6n2 with Reddick and 1-3 without , avg 3 sacks a game with him and 2 sacks in the last 3games till cards…Reddick pressures can causse sacks for others like they did the first 7 games….Myles Garrett , Max Crosby, Watts Brothers , Bosa brothers , Hendrickson, Parsons all get tons of sacks but how many Rings do they have ? That would be 0… Eagles top sacker last year had 6.5 and they averaged 2 sacks a game ..How did they do last year ?
December 1st, 2025 at 2:46 pm
Correction Eagles top sacker had 8
December 1st, 2025 at 2:50 pm
Yaya had 1.5 sacks and]nd vita has .5 sack right?
December 1st, 2025 at 2:54 pm
Sacks are great but they are one play and many are for less than 4yards also a sack in the first qtr is diff than in the 4th qtr …I am in total agreement of needing more pass rushers but at the same time top pass rushers are paid like QBS which is why the Garretts , Crosbys often hinder their team while only needing to make 1 play a game to be great.
December 1st, 2025 at 2:57 pm
Agree with Rod.
We are not going to see any 3 and out from our defense thanks to easy check downs on open flats. SMH
I guess is better than having an OLB covering a running back or TE. The good old nightmare mismatch. Yesterday I saw Vea dropping back. SMH
December 1st, 2025 at 3:17 pm
“Is Management Really THAT GOOD?”
This is what it seems to come down to… Ready? Steady! Here it is..
Lousy Contracts.
Have some of you ever worked and got paid via “Commissions”?
Commissions are FAR DIFFERENT than an hourly pay.
Hourly pay is the same whether you’re the top performer at your job or if your the worst at your job. Hourly pay IS NOT designed to get top performance from anybody.
It simply guarantees that someone, anyone will show up at the job. And people figured out Long Ago that they DON’T have to give their All to get paid via “hourly pay”
Back to Commissions… Commissions are design to GUARANTEE TOP PERFORMANCE! A Well known form of pay in the “sales industry”, If a salesman has No Sales then they Don’t Make a penny! So that form of pay Absolutely Guarantees HARD WORK AND THE VERY BEST EFFORT… They tend to be paid at a Very High commission rate because “THEY TAKE ALL THE RISK” They simply MUST PRODUCE or go hungry. Only fair they Should Be Paid WELL…
And there are other professions that get paid similarly to commissions and they are “Contractors”. They get paid “by the job”. So if a contractor gets the contract fulfilled (job complete) in say a week, that contractor will make Much More money rather than if it takes them two weeks.. A cross between pure commission and an hourly.
And now that pay rates are generally understood , what type of pay are the players being paid? And Just How Hard are they working for the money?
And after you realize how they are being paid, perhaps you’ll understand WHY they are playing with NO HEART! In the end it’s the “guaranteed pay” that seems to be the problem to me. HOW MANY HAVE COMPLAINED THAT PLAYER X WASN’T PLAYING UP TO THEIR CONTRACT? And you know what? YOU’RE RIGHT! He might feel inspired to get a contract bonus BUT HE CERTAINLY DOESN’T HAVE TO RELY ON IT TO BE A MILLIONAIRE…..
They are playing as if they are hourly employees and NOT contracted… They DON’T HAVE TO EARN THEIR MONEY VIA PERFORMANCE UNLESS IT’S IN THE CONTRACT!
You know, if they got paid for “PURE PERFORMANCE” very similar to Commissions, WE’D HAVE PRO BOWLERS ALL OVER THIS TEAM AND A GUARANTEED SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE YEARLY!
You want to know how to get THE BEST from Any Employee? A football player? I just told you how. And if the contracts were “design on a performance bases” well, playing WITH HEART IS GUARANTEED!
December 1st, 2025 at 3:18 pm
I dunno about 5 but there were a few for sure, and even just 1-2 would have resulted in a lot easier W.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:18 pm
Love-Spiral: EXACTLY. But is the last name Ham? LOL. And Joe you mentioned in the last thread the lack of fundamentals. It looks to me like the tacklers lower their heads instead of keeping them up to push through the intended target. Recognition helps too so not sure why there’s not more of that. I don’t know if it’s scheme or not but too many times our defenders look so far out of position I don’t know what they could possibly be looking at, that throw to the TE for the Cardinals last TD even the announcer said it looked too easy. I don’t understand without hearing it from the inside. Are there no instincts to this D?
December 1st, 2025 at 3:21 pm
So let’s review here. We can’t get sacks and we can’t defend the pass. And that side of the football is almost completely healthy, relatively speaking. Bowles gets off easy time and time again for this putrid product he puts on the field week in week out. No fire. No sense of urgency. Now it’s “we got to tackle better”. You can rest assured we will be upset by one or more of these remaining “easy” games.
That includes N.O. on Sunday. I wouldn’t be shocked in the least if they lose that game at home.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:22 pm
Cardinals have one of the lowest ranking offensive lines in the league and the defense still looked bad. What are we hoping for in the playoffs that the bucs got a pressure on doing something in the playoffs? The bucs look like a bad team that is poorly coached.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:23 pm
@Oblivious one
The main issues with your performance based contract plan:
1. No pro player is going to sign a purely incentive driven contract when they can lose their career in any single play at any given time.
2. No team is going to get competitive players by offering incentive-only driven contract structures.
Also in the real world, every situation is different as to why an hourly / exempt / incentive driven / etc type employment contract is structured. There is no one size fit all perfect employment methodology. Too much nuance depending on the industry and a million other factors.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:26 pm
The sad part is again watching this defense loaf and believe me I watched Riddick walk and the rb ran by him he wasn’t even trying
Zyon gets burned on everything
December 1st, 2025 at 3:40 pm
Drake Make threw for one TD, 167 yards and 4 completions while under pressure from us. That’s the difference between a win and a loss for our Patriots game. So I don’t care how good our pressure is unless it’s causing sacks and turnovers. Bowles says he understands and having Reddick healthy on the field helps. But I’m tired of excuses for Todd Bowles and his coaches. We’ve drafted enough on the DL and he has not developed a single good DL. Not even going to count Vita Via because I think Suh did a better job developing him when it wasn’t even his job.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:53 pm
I missed dating five super models, but I was oh-so close every time.
December 1st, 2025 at 3:59 pm
Does Reddick have any moves besides letting the blocker grab his jersey?
December 1st, 2025 at 4:11 pm
Course he does same move I have every two weeks cashing that check baby.
December 1st, 2025 at 4:13 pm
Falcons and Browns are 2nd and 3rd in sacks right now ..So they are headed to the playoffs ..Most important defensive stat is Points allowed PERIOD.
December 1st, 2025 at 4:15 pm
How many different ways do you need to say this team sucks?
December 1st, 2025 at 4:16 pm
Bucs rank 19th in defensive payroll. Currently the 22nd ranked defense. Seems about right. We’re getting what the payroll purchased.
December 1st, 2025 at 4:17 pm
I get where you went with this johnnythemoon and agree but gotta score points too. Don’t think there would be as much stressing from the fanbase if we had more 38-35 victories like the Seattle game.
December 1st, 2025 at 4:37 pm
@ Lord.Corni
December 1st, 2025 at 4:51 pm
@ Lord.Cornelius
Well,.I’m not suggesting that they should go full on performance based commissions.
I’m suggesting that the contracts Should Be Far More performance based. Rather than 75 to 85% of the contract guaranteed.
Clearly, it would promote a Far Better Performance from All players.
And as far as injury is concerned, That’s why they carry the insurance policies that they do. If a guy unfortunately gets damaged so badly that they are out of football for life, it’s Not as if they instantly go broke. And I’ve got a feeling that “the team” via contract negotiations are on the hook for the insurance premiums. I’d be STUNNED if they weren’t.
MONEY MOTIVATES! And THAT’S REAL WORLD!
The highest guarantees within the contracts can be performance based. It DOESN’T have to resemble an hourly hire. OF WHICH IT CLEARLY DOES because if it weren’t so, Then By God they’d be playing their hearts out VS playing with No Heart AT ALL.
And I Guarantee You that All Contracts Are Negotiable….
Just a suggestion if you REALLY want to see some of the BEST BALL you’ll Ever See in your life.