Alex Anzalone’s Tackling
September 24th, 2026
Can inside linebacker Alex Anzalone turn it around?
If a few unsolved Bucs mysteries aren’t solved like Sunday, they’re likely to doom the season.
The first mystery — a longstanding mystery to Joe — is why KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles is so averse to sacks from edge rushers.
Another mystery is what the heck happened to Alex Anzalone. The Gators product was once known throughout the NFL as a solid tackler, a smart guy known for hard-hitting, defending the pass and being a smart, fundamentally sound player.
Right now, virtually every other time Anzalone tries to make a tackle, he looks like he’s swinging on a stripper pole.
Bowles believes Anzalone will work his way out of this slump.
“Very confident in Alex tackling,” Bowles said. “It hasn’t been a problem for him (in his career).
“He missed one or two here and there, but a couple people missed a couple here and there. Alex is going to be fine.
“He’s calmed down. We have great confidence in him. He’s going to be fine.”
Joe hopes so (there’s that ugly word again) because tackling is the most elementary part of defensive football. The Bucs need everyone, not just one or two guys, getting the job done.
Could it be that Anzalone, who previously played in 43 defenses in the NFL, is lost in a 34 defense?
If a starting inside linebacker can’t tackle, then your defense then has a low ceiling.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:04 am
Anzalone has been awful the first few games of the season. I will take Dennis over him right now he has been that bad.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:04 am
He has been a big disappointment so far. A long with a few other things that I hope will improve sooner then later.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:07 am
The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be,
Ain’t what she used to be, ain’t what she used to be,
The old gray mare, she ain’t what she used to be,
Many long years ago.
Please put her out to pasture…
September 24th, 2026 at 9:09 am
Bowles singing his #1 hit. Don’t worry be happy.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:10 am
This team is in so much disarray….. big money Baker looks awful … big money Vita plays like a big sack of potatoes….. our Defensive captain can’t tackle or cover the pass ….Bowles acts like he is scared sh****** at every news conference…… the O line collectively greatly disappointing….. our passing game , good grief , other than a few other indecencies …. Fire the pop guns !!
September 24th, 2026 at 9:10 am
Bowles is like the CNN anchor that claimed the protest was mostly peaceful.
Meanwhile, in the background a building was engulfed in flames.
That perfectly sums up the 2026 season. It’s over.
0-17 is a very real possibility. I doubt we can even beat the Falcons.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:11 am
Bowles, I know he’s trying to stick up for his guy, but dude cmon man he needs to hold these guys accountable. Anzalone has been the biggest FA disappointment since Chris Baker.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:13 am
Could it be that Anzalone, who previously played in 43 defenses in the NFL, is lost in a 34 defense?
good point @Joes!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
September 24th, 2026 at 9:18 am
“Could it be that Anzalone, who previously played in 43 defenses in the NFL, is lost in a 34 defense?”
He’s played in 3-4 defense tho, in fact Dan Campbells second year in Detroit w/Aaron Glenn the Lions switched to a 3-4:
“Jun 09, 2022 at 11:35 AM
Author Image
Mike OHara
Columnist
The Detroit Lions’ defensive linemen aren’t the only ones who like the switch to the 4-3 base defense from the 3-4 they used last season.
So do the linebackers.
Like the defensive linemen, who played a read-and-react style in the first season under head coach Dan Campbell and his staff, the linebackers are looking forward to playing an attack game.
“We love it,” linebacker Alex Anzalone said with genuine enthusiasm. “Last year we were more in the kind of ‘wait and pad our cleats’ type of linebacker play.
“This year it’s a lot more aggressive – a lot more downhill. It makes it easy for us to make tackles, make TFLs (tackles for loss) — things of that nature.”
So that excuse or reasoning for his struggles are out the window, not valid I think Alex is just aging faster than David was and he looks lost af out there.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:23 am
Can’t judge his tackling.
Haven’t seen him tackle anybody yet. Can’t judge what you ain’t seen!
Yet hes still better at tackling – than our pathetic pass rushers are at pass rushing!
Anzolone and Trotter can’t cover TEs. Winfield is mailing it in. Our Pass rush is an absolute disgrace. None of our front 7 can Tackle. Vea hates being here.
Only surprisingly Goid news, is all of our Cornerbacks are playing good.
But they can’t hold up, against a QB who has all day.
And Tykee Smith is playing like Winfield is supposed to be playing. Smith is doing his job Plus.
It’s gonna be a loooong season.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:25 am
Give Roseboom some snaps and he how he does.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:26 am
Jason Licht should get all of the blame here
Why sign Alex Anzalone an aging 4-3 linebacker
To be one of our inside linebackers
Devin Lloyd was the linebacker he should have went after
Detroit get rid of Alex Anzalone
And now they have Devin White at linebacker
September 24th, 2026 at 9:29 am
Even Ronde Barber on his show is perplexed saying their is definately some kind of dilemma with him. Barber said it could be he is struggling with knowing the defense and having to think instead of react. Well either Anazalone is simply getting past his prime or something like what Barber mentioned is going on. However, I think waiting is a mistake because he seems to be getting worse each game. I know presently he looks like a big libility out there and is hurting the team. He is not the entire problem , but is a big one. I agree with Barber, this team has no identity. The best players on defense right now are, Smith, Scott and Trotter. After that no one shows up. On offense it is Bucky. The offense has no identity. My question what has happened to the receivers?. They have disappeared?.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:31 am
Anzalonely is now allergic to solid tackling like Bowles is to letting defensive linemen rush the qb, calling a good defensive scheme, making in game adjustments and beating the AFC North
September 24th, 2026 at 9:36 am
The whole organisation needs a revamp. Kinda like a brand new brand. Some of the decision making has cost the Buccaneers dearly. Particularly when the Buccaneers let Liam Coen out of the building in favor of keeping Todd Bowles. I feel that decision will consistently be in back of most fans minds as the years go on. Time to get a new workable vision for the Buccaneers. This current one is not working.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:39 am
Maybe I am wrong here but didnt Bowles say LB was our deepest position? If so, YIKES. Then again, that explains alot. Thank you Team Glazer.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:40 am
Sorry Todd….we are just going off the film and actual results. Silly us
September 24th, 2026 at 9:41 am
It should be a HUGE “red-flag” to EVERY GM and FO, when OLD athletes on the decline, start panicking when the pressure starts to build on them concerning their contracts and MONEY… It’s a TELL. And, it should’ve been SO EASY to see. I mean, just think HOW MANY times now, throughout 13-YEARS for LICKT… Especially, the past couple of seasons. BOTH, Baker and Vea had lost their cool FOR A REASON. That’s when you KNOW it’s time to say NEXT and just move TF ON. Seriously, how many times does it take to just continuously, GET BURNT!? Cause, it almost NEVER works-out with these ‘aging’ players, once they start threatening to hold-out, & etc. Or, in Baker’s case to run to the media and start ‘popping-off’ and start calling the owners of the franchise LIARS, & etc. EVEN, AFTER THAT… These owners, along with LICKT, still thought it was a good idea. Because, they didn’t want to have to start-over FRESH with ‘negotiations’ the following year. Unbelievable. I literally, almost “belly-laughed” while typing that last sentence. It is SO LAUGHABLE. Just embarrassing. I mean, total “CLOWN SHOW” stuff there. HOW WEAK… And, LAZY. Ignorance. I can’t even remember the last time they’ve actually TRADED for a Player, or launched/moved one of their own!? STAGNANT. ZERO real movement. It’s about “THEIR” COMFORT. Just Content.
September 24th, 2026 at 9:48 am
Yeah, this guy somehow over the summer forgot to tackle, forgot to cover. Its all his fault, nothing to do with what the coach tells him to do and how to play and where to play?
September 24th, 2026 at 9:56 am
If he doesnt improve this weekend TB might want to play Dennis???? Cant be any worse but he can tackle. We’re getting burned by tight ends anyway.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:03 am
“Joe hopes so (there’s that ugly word again)”
Nothing wrong with hope at all.
As to Anzalone, I think he will pull it together. The entire team is kind of failing at this point.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:11 am
Shouldn’t the headline read: Alex Anzalone’s LACK of Tackling!
September 24th, 2026 at 10:11 am
Only Todd Bowles and his complex scheme can make good football players look bad. JL can give Bowles the 85 Bears roster and he would make them look bad. He’s special, that Bowles.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:18 am
It all goes back to Bowles, his system, and his unwillingness to change. Guys are lost out there, not playing fast, not attacking, and don’t even mention the edge rushers, thats a tragic waste of talent.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:21 am
I’m sorry but tackling is the same in ANY scheme, 4-3 or 3-4. The bottom line is that it is simply not good enough.
This is an empty statement considering but, there needs to be accountability, accountability for players AND coaches. I don’t know what that looks like at this level because you expect pros to be pros. A linebacker that can’t tackle?! SMH
September 24th, 2026 at 10:23 am
Football 1 … ‘Even Ronde Barber on his show is perplexed saying their is definately some kind of dilemma with him. Barber said it could be he is struggling with knowing the defense and having to think instead of react.’
Joe … ‘Could it be that Anzalone, who previously played in 43 defenses in the NFL, is lost in a 34 defense?’
Anzalone was in the 4-3 defense for his 4 years in New Orleans (2017-2020). When he signed with Detroit in 2021, Dan Campbell had just become their HC, and the Lions defense switched to the 3-4 … for ONE season (team went 3-13-1). Lions switched back in 2022 to the 4-3 that they’d historically been using, and still use that today.
IOW, Anzalone has ONE year experience in the 3-4 (the woeful 2021 in Detroit). If you look closely, you’ll find that his stats were underwhelming, and that his Missed Tackle Percentage was 16.1% … the highest of his career except for the 2 games thus far this season. Alex made 78 tackles (49 solo) that season, but was tagged with FIFTEEN MISSED TACKLES. Perhaps he was struggling with their 3-4 defense?
Personally I think Ronde’s right. Anzalone … a team captain and our signal-caller … ‘is struggling with knowing the defense and having to think instead of react.’ And he’s not thinking or reacting fast enough.
As an alternative, I agree with Jim Bob that Christian Rozeboom should be given an opportunity to start IF Anzalone doesn’t show great progress this next game (Bucs can’t let this go on forever). Rozeboom started in the 3-4 defenses these past 2 years of both the Rams and the Panthers. He did quite a bit of blitzing from the ILB position those last 2 seasons, and his Missed Tackle Percentage is around 10%. His pass coverage career average is 77.3%, significantly better than SVD’s 84.4%. I’d MUCH rather see him starting than SVD.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:33 am
Dont forget we still have Caden Fordham on the PS
September 24th, 2026 at 10:35 am
@Davenport
Bingo! Not willing to simplify the system so the guys can play fast. Every year he says he’s changing things, the same defense shows up every year. Lousy Lovie play my scheme 2.0!
September 24th, 2026 at 10:39 am
What tackling?
September 24th, 2026 at 10:40 am
Bowles is completely delusional and he doesn’t ever hold players accountable or take blame for anything. He brushes off issues that the average Joe can even see. It’s NEVER his scheme. It’s NEVER coaching.
They keep rearranging the deck chairs (players), but we all know the ship always sinks at the end because the Capt can see or refuses to acknowledge what we all know.
September 24th, 2026 at 10:44 am
Many veterans during the lost decade came to the Bucs for a last contract. A paid Glazer vacation. I have my concerns this is happening with Anzalone.
September 24th, 2026 at 11:00 am
I dread Sunday
September 24th, 2026 at 11:04 am
We won’t win a game until Anzalone is benched.
That’s my gut feeling.
September 24th, 2026 at 11:25 am
“D-Rome Says:
September 24th, 2026 at 10:44 am
Many veterans during the lost decade came to the Bucs for a last contract. A paid Glazer vacation. I have my concerns this is happening with Anzalone.”
Derrick Ward, Carl Nicks, Michael Johnson, Chris Baker, & Haason Reddick come to mind
September 24th, 2026 at 11:36 am
Well, yeah… He got to come back home while banking a few more MIL in his back pocket. Sweet Deal.
September 24th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
“ Could it be that Anzalone, who previously played in 43 defenses in the NFL, is lost in a 34 defense?”
This isn’t just any 34 defense. It is a Bowels 34 defense.
Unfortunately, defining the problem does not solve it. To solve it, you must first remove Bowels from the equation.
Anzalone is far from being the only player lost in this defense.
September 24th, 2026 at 12:25 pm
Thought his presence would be a great thing. Since he flies around like Fabio and throws his body all over the place whiffing at air, got to say I was wrong. This guys hilarious to watch, at least you can get a good laugh if you watch the sucky games. He’s lining his pockets just like Boweles, Vea, Mayfield and any other a hole who recently got paid. Why don’t you just give this money to people who really need it.
September 24th, 2026 at 12:44 pm
I have watched anzalone look like he is ice skating for 2 weeks now. You think he can swing some of that 14 mil to buy a pair of cleats? Would probably help him a bit.
September 24th, 2026 at 12:57 pm
bro is super garbage
September 24th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
“It’s the angles.”
Yeah. Suddenly after 10 years, the sure tackler doesn’t know angles.
Maybe he’s just old. Anyone think Campbell let him leave because he was still at the top of his career?
September 24th, 2026 at 1:21 pm
Another offseason of Camp Cupcake translates into poor tackling in the regular season… Gee, where have we seen this before?
Oh that’s right- last year! And the year before… and the year before that…
September 24th, 2026 at 1:52 pm
What Ander said.
September 24th, 2026 at 2:01 pm
Again, I’ll point out what I said when we got him… I went to Lions message boards and fans sites to see what they thought about him, and half the people there were celebrating, saying he lost a step and KEPT MISSING TACKLES. That was back in March, not after game 1 or this last game. If the fans of the Lions were saying he was missing tackles – and now he’s missing even more tackles – I have a feeling that this is who he is.
They did say up until last year he had played well, but last year, he looked a step slow in coverage – and like I said, he was missing tackles.
I will say I haven’t really noticed Analzone looking slow in man, but he’s lost in zone.
September 24th, 2026 at 2:10 pm
The Bucs don’t even run a 3-4. Those OLB’s play up, so it’s more like a 5-2 than anything else.
I’m tired of talking about it. Bottom line: Bowles doesn’t have the answers. Boot his kit kat eating butt outta town and get us a Sean McDermott or a Mike Tomlin and call it a day.
September 24th, 2026 at 2:11 pm
How do you use the word “hope” after losing to the Browns? There is no hope.
September 24th, 2026 at 2:40 pm
He’s not going to be fine because he already hasn’t been fine for two games !!
Bowles needs to get a deeply buried Govt job !!
His acceptance of things is just deeply unaccountably government like !!
Alex Whif Alone literally reminds me of Ivory Sully !!
could be that Todd’s defense doesn’t fit him, but he does not look good at all!!
September 24th, 2026 at 3:58 pm
He should be a bull fighter! Ole!
September 24th, 2026 at 4:22 pm
Don’t pile on Anzalone too hard.
This defense Was total garbage last year.
Anzalone was never going to be able to fix that.
It’s just more of the same garbage we watched last year.
That’s Jason Lichts fault, not Anzalone’s