Todd Bowles: Bucs Tackling Improved
September 22nd, 2026
Three Bucs defensive players missed the tackle of Browns receiver Denzel Boston on Cleveland’s game-winning touchdown on Sunday.
Joe can’t stop watching it and seething. (The video is below.) Three veteran players couldn’t bring down a rookie second-round pick.
Aileen Hnatiuk of WFLA-TV sat down with Todd Bowels yesterday and asked him how Bucs tackling can improve. It’s been a struggle in Weeks 1 and 2.
“Just hustle and effort. Understanding angles,” Bowles said. “You know, we missed about three of them. We’re down [in total missed tackles] from last week, but we got to get down even more. Defensively, trying to be the best, you got to make all those plays.”
Joe was intruiged to learn that Bowles considers a missed tackle failing to bring down a single ball carrier, so one missed tackle is not per player.
Hnatiuk asked Bowles about Alex Anzalone missing that tackle on Boston and Bowles clapped back a bit. “It was three of them that missed that tackle. It was unfair to say it was just Alex,” Bowles said.
Ironically, it seems the Bucs best tackler might be rookie Josiah Trotter.
Joe can’t explain the Bucs’ tackling woes. Every NFL team is on a level playing field. Why are the Bucs subpar?
Rookie Denzel Boston goes 55 yards for the TD!
CLEvsTB on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/nmkRtJNhIv— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:17 pm
Outside of like 1 guy, who just so happens to be playing a position where you’re exposed to the most tackling opportunities.
Our DBs having a gang of tackles combined isn’t good, and for anybody who hasn’t heard the cliche
If your safeties lead the team in tackles the front needs to be run ragged. Build a hill at the practice facility and have the players run it flat.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:19 pm
Alrighty then lol
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:23 pm
Stop it !
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:26 pm
I give credit to Denzel Boston
I said he would be an instant success in the NFL
He has everything a WR need to succeed in the NFL
His effort was relentless, refusing to go down, getting the winning TD
It was a joy to watch
I think Keionte Scott will be a starting Safety for the Bucs
Sooner than later, once Bowles get sacked
The new administration will not be bonded to Licht draft picks
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:26 pm
They all had their hands on him at the same time, and they were all left behind, stacked on top of each other. Embarrassing.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:29 pm
Three players didn’t miss a tackle. That idiot Analzone came flying in out of control, missed the tackle and in the process also wiped out Winfield and Smith.
There’s on been one guy in defense who has been missing tackles. The only other guy who missed tackle of note – that I recall is – Morrison last week, but he’s also a corner and it wasn’t a big play. Analzone meanwhile has given up a bunch of big plays and that TD. He’s been awful.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:30 pm
***My error it wasn’t the winning score”””
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:30 pm
**My bad**
It wasn’t the winning score
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:31 pm
Anzolee was like a sabotaur on that play
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:32 pm
#34 sure didnt tackle any better
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:33 pm
Wow! So we improved!
Sounds like horse sh*t to me.
When I was watching the Browns drive down the field, end of the game-
-we all knew they were gonna score.
Why? Because that’s what we watched all last year!
The offense you all b*tch about SOMEHOW has a lead in the 4th quarter?
Then the defense rolls over- and loses the game.
Mike Evan watched us with the lead, when our putrid defense gave up the 3rd and 27, enroute to giving up the winning score.
He slung his helmet, walking thru the tunnel.
I believe that’s when Evans knew it was time to jump Ship. The S.S.Sh*thole was going down at the bow.
We lost Mike Evans. We lost Lavonte David. 2 superior players.
And we replaced them with . . A rookie WR and an over the hill LBer.
THIS is how Jason Licht thought he would Improve a team that sucked hard last year.
We were a horrible team last year. And somehow- we got worse.
Playoffs? Division champions?
Did any of you watch last year? Exactly what do you think improved that train wreck?
Nothing. Same bad offensive line. Even Wirfs is horrible this year. Barton and Bredesen are maintaining the same high level of Suck as last year.
Defensive line was pathetic last year. It’s even more pathetic this year. Can’t get near a QB.
LBers are bad.
Secondary is playing better in spots- but not when the game is on the line.
Same horrible head coach, also league worse defensive defensive Coordinator.
New, worse( hard to believe) Offensive Coordinator.
A GM that, in 5 years, hasn’t been able to build a pass rush, or build an OLine that can pass protect.
Repeat after me.
It’s gonna be a looong season
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:34 pm
Funny how Bowles bashes the offense demanding more big plays, but his defense can’t make them either and he gets annoyed when you question him on it. This dude has such a fragile little ego. Explains a lot.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:35 pm
Would have been a good year to ring of honor Hardy to offset this mess at ILB1
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:36 pm
Give Denzel Boston his props
What he did was amazing for a rookie playing his 2nd game
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:37 pm
We need Bucs WRs to make plays like that
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:40 pm
Bowles sounds like a broken record.
Same crap over and over.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:42 pm
I was just watching NFL live as they analyzed the Bucs Browns game. I didn’t watch the entire game Sunday it was to depressing. However, there’s something seriously wrong with this team. Missed tackle, terrible play from both sides of the ball, the receivers with minimum catches. I don’t a have clue of what’s gonna on down at One Bucs Place other than Bowles have lost control and need to be replaced at the end of the season. Can Joe or anyone enlighten me of what’s happening
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:48 pm
Rod: I can’t make out the numbers, but it seems pretty clear that the first defender flat-out missed the tackle, and then the other two defenders 1/3 tripped over the first guy, 1/3 ran into each other, and 1/3 missed the angle.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:52 pm
Paraphrasing Bowles “Yes, we suck, but not as much as last week”. Uh, the tackling has been poor for several years now, Bowles always says it needs to fixed, so WHY ISN’T IT FIXED YET? We know why, being bad at tackling is acceptable, nothing has been done about it, and Anzalone will probably continue to start for the rest of the year, just like Devin White did for several years, even with shoddy “Tackling”.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:57 pm
It really sucks that we have to go through this long season with Bowles and then have to wait another off-season to watch the Bucs again. And when the new season starts, hopefully we have hired a really good coach.
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:57 pm
Denzel Boston didn’t run the 40 at the combine, or Washington pro day
So he fell all the way to the 39th pick in the draft
But, you can see he has football speed, the hits didn’t slow him down
Zyon McCollum had a shot, and Zyon is fast, but Boston was too speedy
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:59 pm
Tackling improved????? Except like when the game was on the line. Todd lives in his own little world 🌎!
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:00 pm
The sad thing watching that play is there were 5 guys( Morrison and McCollum started hustling after the first 3 missed, they’d have made the tackle if they weren’t watching the other 3 miss ) that could have made that tackle.
Surely these guys watch the tape and see that they’re not flying through the whistle. Good defenses have a certain mentality and effort. I don’t know how they coach these guys. But we just don’t have it, that swarming, flying around balls to the wall effort.
And I hate to say it, the natural leader of this group, Winfield, isn’t going full throttle. Really obvious from this clip.
When you have a secondary that doesn’t put the fear of God into a receiver unit, those receivers are emboldened to think they can make yards after catch every time. Against our defense they have been doing that for 3 years straight. Maybe longer.
I don’t think Lynch is coming back. That means someone is going to need to coach them up. And the ones who aren’t embarrassed what they are seeing on film, and don’t immediately correct the effort, need to be benched until they learn.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 pm
anzalone-ly with the crocodile death roll…the roll and release…lol…that only resulted in the so called death of his 2 teammates…freeing up boston to scamper towards the end zone… with zyon lagging, and not attempting to lung and punch the ball out at the goal line, like awj used to be able to do when he was his former self
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:05 pm
lunge*
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:06 pm
Why are the Bucs subpar? Answer: Todd Bowles scheme sucks.
The simplest explanation is often the correct one.
Now the question is how long will the Glazers wait to course correct.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:08 pm
Kenton Smith
That’s why this was an amazing play by the rookie Denzel Boston
99% of WRs wouldn’t make that play
There was 5 Bucs surrounding him, not another Browns player
Morrison and Zyon thought he was going down
So they just watch the play, but the rookie was relentless
Refusing to go down, find his way into the end zone
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:08 pm
Joe – no updates have been shared here on how Trotter did in game 2. Seemed like he was everywhere. I’d like to see a story on him – you know – for a brief moment of positivity. Very brief moment.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:09 pm
Gboyz have not gotten over firing Tony Dungy even though he had to go.
So now they are struggling with guilt and INSECURITY sitting on the bench for Temu Tony Dungy !
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:15 pm
I gotta give Denzel Boston his props
That was a heck of a play by a 22 year old rookie in his 2nd NFL game
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:15 pm
I don’t want to hear from Bowles anymore unless it’s the Bucs PR team announcing they fired him. I can’t wait until this nightmare is over and they blow up this team.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:20 pm
Once the Bucs fire Todd Bowles
I guarantee you the new administration will get rid of Licht trash
Because, he won’t be handcuffed by Licht failed draft picks
I predict over 90% of this roster will be gone in 3 years
Hallelujah
U can’t wait for it to happen
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:23 pm
***I can’t wait for it to happen**
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:36 pm
I don’t think we’ll win a single game until Anzalone is benched.
Let’s see how long it takes Bowles to yank. I think we’ll prob be 0-7 by the time he decides to finally bench Anzalone. Hopefully I’m wrong about that.
Bench Bain until he’s 100% healthy. Wtf are we doing there as well???!?
D Walker looks like our best pass rusher and he’s rarely on the field.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:44 pm
To be fair, Alex likely makes that tackle with a a weak ass ankle tackle if the other two Bucs don’t knock him off Boston with their attempts. However Alex was hot garbage THROUGHOUT the game. I wish he would have been this soft when he was playing for Detroit, he is somehow a different player this vs last few years. At this point LD or Dennis is a better option IMO.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:51 pm
Fewer missed tackles than last week, huh? So did Bowels count the Fabian led Keystone Cops play as one missed tackle or Three missed tackles.
One, you say? Yeh, that’s what I thought.
September 22nd, 2026 at 7:56 pm
Hmmm I’m wondering if I’ll be able to make a comment this time.
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:00 pm
IIF????the glazers get rid of Jason(cold day in #### that happens, even getting rid of Todd probably won’t help until 2-3:years afterwards.
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:04 pm
CosmoKramer answer : until the end of the season like always.
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:15 pm
This team need a major overhaul in the Front Office
The coaching staff and the roster
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:44 pm
Understanding angles? Are you serious?
You’re NOT coaching. You’re not teaching. You’re incompetent. And so are your hobo assistant coaches.
How about benching some people for poor performance?
Bowles will be on his couch next season.
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:48 pm
TROTTER 2nd round bad man baby, he is on fire 🔥 he gets cleats and gloves in Canton like Cadillac Williams in his first three games before week 3 !!! You know how good his father was? He made a man out of his son from the start!!! Thank you kiddo!!!
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:51 pm
Adam schefter today, “this is the kind of loss that gets you fired”…😳
September 22nd, 2026 at 8:55 pm
Tackling improved? Oh my! I am so sick of hearing its “hustle, effort in dog gone doggone angles.” He said that crap after every game for the past three years! Say something else! It just shows you have no intelligence or answers. You were the freaking coach, do something about it!
September 22nd, 2026 at 9:03 pm
Can someone explain to this idiot that we’re not blind? Alot of us record the game and treat it like game film for analysis, etc.
We know what we see.
Its probably best that Todd stop talking. Its embarrassing.
September 22nd, 2026 at 9:25 pm
This is the NFL the highest level. If players have to be taught how to tackle they need to be gone. It’s one thing to whiff a few times a season but every game no. Coaches are nfl level shouldn’t have to teach on tackling
September 22nd, 2026 at 9:26 pm
JustVisiting Says:
September 22nd, 2026 at 6:48 pm
Rod: I can’t make out the numbers, but it seems pretty clear that the first defender flat-out missed the tackle, and then the other two defenders 1/3 tripped over the first guy, 1/3 ran into each other, and 1/3 missed the angle.
———–
The guy who missed the tackle was Analzone, he’s an idiot.
In the process of missing the tackle, he managed to take out both Winfield and Smith.
For people giving Zyon a hard time – there was three guys there, no one in the world is expecting that moron Analzone to take out his own teammate, more less TWO teammates.
Also for all the drama queens SHOCKED Bowles would say this… watch the game, the tackling was better than week 1, when Analzone alone had at least 4 missed tackles and Morrison had another. This week, I think Analzone improved to only having 2 missed tackles, and I don’t recall anyone else missing a tackle, and no, I don’t count Analzone literally wiping out his teammates as them missing a tackle. If you’re on defense, you don’t expect that moron to come flying in and tackle you instead of tackling the offensive player.
September 22nd, 2026 at 9:59 pm
BTW, a pretty hilarious thread on X where the Bucs wish Analzone a happy birthday today.
Some of the videos, of things of him missing blowing out the birthday cake, are missing a tackle on the birthday cake, a quite funny.
September 22nd, 2026 at 10:03 pm
The hardest hit I saw all game was on that inside run where Anzalone plowed into our own player. A sad sight for already sore eyes. Where’s Rozeboom or SVD when we need them???
C’mon, Bowles. Stop sucking so bad as a coach please! Yank these frauds and bench em. Bain too until he’s healthy.
September 22nd, 2026 at 10:40 pm
Erik with Clean Athletics™ Says:
September 22nd, 2026 at 10:03 pm
The hardest hit I saw all game was on that inside run where Anzalone plowed into our own player. A sad sight for already sore eyes. Where’s Rozeboom or SVD when we need them???
——–
For all the complaining about SVD, he was WAYYYYY better than Analzone has been this year.
And the mere idea that people honestly thought this bum would be an upgrade over future HOF’er David is remarkable. I don’t care if David had both of his legs amputated, he’d still be a billion times better than this idiot.
September 23rd, 2026 at 2:17 am
What a great DC this team has
September 23rd, 2026 at 3:27 am
The putrid pass defense of recent past is still alive and well, it appears
September 23rd, 2026 at 5:58 am
Boweles is really r I g h t I n g the ship. Woohoo. What a savior
September 23rd, 2026 at 7:59 am
Maybe get down on bended knee and beg David to come out of retirement. So tired of Bowles and his vanilla defense and feeble headcoaching. Fire him and sell the farm to get Mike Tomlin here.
September 23rd, 2026 at 8:18 am
How bout them wide open TEs still ?
Anything on them?
Bum
September 23rd, 2026 at 8:56 am
NO… Just… NO! Don’t even try to gaslight us into believing the opposite of what we all saw.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:04 am
We simply are NOT a motivated group of guys. As good as our super bowl teams were, they were motivated to play, win and had pride playing for their coach.
While I do not place all the blame on Coach TB, I simply believe he is a coordinator in the league. Not a head coach. Good Head Coaches have swag, moxie and know how to motivate millionaire men.
This locker rooms was lost when Bucco Bruce left. Should of promptly hired John Gruden who won us a super bowl with Brad Johnson. A Brad Johnson, who took the field every Sunday motivated and played with the pride of his coach on his shoulders.
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:05 am
Subpar Coach=Subpar tackling
Subpar DC=Subpar tackling
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:17 am
Bowles is a Cancer as a Head Coach !!
September 23rd, 2026 at 9:45 am
What reality does this guy live in? Watson averaged under 5 yards per throw, YAC was like 170 yards. What are you even looking at Bowles?
September 23rd, 2026 at 11:20 am
Huh? Man, the Bucs/Bowles really think fans are that stupid?
September 23rd, 2026 at 4:43 pm
He’s just rambling, and collecting his money.💰 so tired of hearing his stupidity