Todd Bowles Talks Fourth-Down Troubles
December 10th, 2025
Todd Bowles
Remember the first Saints game this year in New Orleans?
The Bucs won big but also needed eight tries to score once from the 1 yard line.
That specific issue continued Sunday: short-yardage blues … and fourth-down woes can be thrown in.
“We stuffed the middle like a turkey,” Saints edge rusher Carl Granderson told NOLA.com on Sunday. “[The Bucs] couldn’t run up the middle. … We knew they were going to try and hit (the) outside. It was a wrap after that.”
Granderson was referencing the Bucs’ failed 4th-and-1 pitch to Bucky Irving near midfield late in the first quarter. It came after Rachaad White failed running on 3rd-and-2.
Later, Sean Tucker failed running up the gut on 4th-and-1. Overall, the Bucs failed five times on fourth down and converted twice.
“The biggest ones earlier were 4th-and-1, you know, we gotta be able to get a yard. You want to think in this league that you can get a yard and they kind of stuffed us the first game and they stuffed us this past game, too,” Todd Bowles told the Buccaneers Radio Network.
“So we gotta get better there from either blocking it or scheming it. Either way we gotta get better there as it got down later in the game. The fourth downs we had to go for a couple of ’em. We had one, we dropped one but we didn’t execute and we were close on one that we didn’t get. But we gotta do better on fourth down.”
Bowles is right. The inability to gain one yard when needed has to be fixed.
December 10th, 2025 at 1:44 am
Pathetic is the only way to describe it.
December 10th, 2025 at 1:53 am
pitch back to Bucky on 4th down. Wow just stiupid. Grizz is a football moron, I don’t care what Ivy league school he went to. Total garbage from an OC that is clueless. lol.
December 10th, 2025 at 1:54 am
Problem solved. We got to do better? I got one. We need to score more points. Brilliant. I mean i learn something new from this guy every time he talks(not). If he only knew what to do to get his team to play better, i do believe he would. He just has no clue, no feel for the game. What actually is he good at? Motivating players? Coaching pass defense? I’m sad now. Thanks a lot! It’s a Bucs life! Fire over confident mistake prone clueless Bowles!
December 10th, 2025 at 2:18 am
The ballgame came down to the Bucs going a lowly 3-for-13 on 3rd down conversions and a ludicrous 2-for-7 on 4th down conversions. This team had numerous chances to put the ballgame away and totally blew it.
That’s a combination of 2 things IMO. One: terrible play-calling (read what the Saints’ players said about defending those attempts and it’s obvious what they thought of our capability). Two: No physicality in the trenches. You’ve gotta be able to win the mano-a-mano battles. We can’t.
December 10th, 2025 at 2:27 am
“Gotta get better” he says with week 15 approaching. This dude is a weekly ad for a sleeping aid. I watched him address the team in a meeting in the last “in the current” & no wonder this team treats preparation like they are at summer camp waiting on their apple slices & nap time. I love BA forever but he humped the pooch, the franchise & the fans when he vouched for sleepy Todd to succeed him
December 10th, 2025 at 3:12 am
TODD BLOWS HAS GOT TO GO!
Any other conversation at this point is moot.
December 10th, 2025 at 3:46 am
This is off the topic of 4th downs, but I’d like to say that I find it highly entertaining that we’ve signed JPP. He is one of my favorite all time Bucs. I’d rather watch a past warrior suit up and try than just watch us circle the drain. At least the team is making an attempt. At least I will be entertained assuming he plays. It reminds me of waiting to see Mike Tyson fight Roy Jones junior. Two of my favorite warriors, I paid the pay per view during the pandemic. I say give Playoff Lenny a call too and make this thing fun to watch on both sides of the ball.
December 10th, 2025 at 3:50 am
Yeah, an Ivy Leaguer who can’t figure-out (with a makeshift O-Line) how to spread the field out, or how to use some pre-snap motion (&/or) a little misdirection. HE continues doing the same things over and over again, and lining-up in super TIGHT formations. They don’t stand a CHANCE. You can see-it going down, every damn time.
December 10th, 2025 at 5:57 am
fubar
December 10th, 2025 at 6:13 am
not sure who is getting fooled in the glazer suite by this nonsense from todd.
“we gotta be able to get a yard” ??
again, is this some sort of volunteer football team at a community club or a franchise in the premier sports league on the planet worth over 6 billion dollars?
people are paid millions to show up at one buc place because they are allegedly ready to play and coach at the highest level….and they havent figured out how to reliably get ONE YARD against all teams in the effing league..never mind the saints?
the glazers are fools and idiots to keep paying this idiot to spout idiotic things. it has become contagious and it seems like the whole organization is now circling the drain because of the consistent stupidity and excuses.
December 10th, 2025 at 7:14 am
Get used to it. Short yardage gains up the middle will fail as long as 3rd and 4th string guards are doing the blocking.
Also, don’t expect any exotic play calling. The OL in it’s current form is just not talented. You can get away with hiding one backup guard. What’s even worse is when you have an OL practice all week with the game plan and then 1st quarter one goes down. Then you’re not only down to bench players, it’s bench players that haven’t practiced as starters all week.
December 10th, 2025 at 7:45 am
“Coach it better. Play it better. Go with the hot hand”. blah, blah, blah…
December 10th, 2025 at 7:53 am
This is the worse short yardage team I have ever seen. Most teams love 3rd and short. It opens the playbook to an eternity of plays, not the 2025 Buccaneers. There is nothing. Nothing. And fourth down, for get about it. Nothing. Two point conversion, NOTHING. This is a sad sad short yardage team just punt on third down like you are in Canada and save clock time for another drive. Probably another two and out though. This team is hard to watch anymore.
December 10th, 2025 at 8:04 am
Let Vea QB sneak it.
December 10th, 2025 at 8:16 am
Yet, 3rd and 17 is no problem for the other team to regularly convert.
December 10th, 2025 at 8:38 am
Drunk Bucs Fan Says:
December 10th, 2025 at 7:14 am
Get used to it. Short yardage gains up the middle will fail as long as 3rd and 4th string guards are doing the blocking.
++++++++++++++++++
Yup – thats it. No daylight for the RB. Just a pile of bodies.
Promoting a young Third Down specialist with no play calling experience was not a good choice. Calling plays is hard – you need to do LOTS of prep work based on scouting your opponents. And get the right call in just seconds.
And meanwhile your opponents are scouting you too.
Grizz is just in over his head. And has the common problem of not tailoring his personnel to the situation.
December 10th, 2025 at 9:28 am
why doesnt Grizz use an extra linemen and Durham as fullback….
Girzz is over his head
GO BUCS!!!!
December 10th, 2025 at 10:20 am
Grizz isn’t a good OC
Bowles isn’t a good DC
Thomas McGaughey is the worst STC
Birds of a feather.
December 10th, 2025 at 10:22 am
In house promotions have not gone good for us at all
December 10th, 2025 at 6:15 pm
You have a QB who threw 40 TD passes last year. Roll him out and give him options to pass or run. Grizzard is way too predictable and unimaginative.