Laughing Todd Bowles
November 3rd, 2026
Todd Bowles was almost giggling yesterday on national radio.
He also had a renewed energy in his voice.
Yes, Joe realizes Bowles may have been riding a caffeine high after eating too many dark chocolate KitKat bars, but he sounded more like a coach who was able to exhale after finally winning two consecutive games and pulling his team out of the darkness. Tampa Bay now has a sad but hopeful 3-5 record after shutting out the Falcons.
Speaking on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Bowles was asked if he always dreamed about having a ferocious defense and running the ball 50-plus times in a game without completing a pass.
“Well, I wasn’t around when Knute Rockne was playing (laughs), so I definitely didn’t dream about that part of it (laughs),” Bowles said. “I’ve seen pictures of it in black and white (laughs), I don’t think I was around. The conditions called for it and we were trying to make sure we took care of the ball.”
Bowles praised coaches for the scheming of the Bucs’ run game without mentioning offensive coodinator Zac Robinson. The head coach noted the Bucs ran the same play “a bunch of different ways” and “mixed up the formations.”
Bowles was even chuckling later in the interview about selling his receivers on not getting pass attempts. With a big smile in his voice, Bowles said he’ll be “loving them guys up some.”
Joe is glad Bowles is laughing and having fun. He even had more laughs during the interview. Winning has a way of sparking those reactions. But it’s also a backhanded reminder that the Bucs’ 3-5 record has triggered opposite reactions among most fans. Rightfully so.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:27 am
Beat the Bears 🐻 on Sunday night, then we can talk. They (Bears) destroyed the Seahawks at Lumen Field last night on MNF.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:39 am
IF Todd’s thinking of doing the same thing against Chicago that he did against Atlanta, we’ll lose big-time. Bears are a much better, more ‘balanced’ team than the Falcons. Ben Johnson has their offense (ranked #8) and defense (ranked #8) firing on all cylinders.
And yet, 2 teams beat them: the 6-1 Vikings & the 5-3 Packers. They beat them primarily with DEFENSE (holding the Bears to 3 & 7 pts respectively) AND forcing 7 Turnovers. Sounds very similar to what the Bucs’ defense did in our 3 wins (gave up 29 pts total in those 3 wins & forced 11 Turnovers).
Big question is … Can we do it again? And against a excellent team. We’ll see Sunday night. (BTW, don’t like that it’s a night game; Bucs are 6-13 in night games since Todd took over as HC in 2022). Still, we won our last night game … against Dallas … earlier this year, so there’s hope.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:40 am
Bears looked like world beaters last night, with a ferocious pass rush! I know we want to run the ball 90% of the time, but u know what will benefit that decision immensely…throwing the ball deep once a quarter!! You can 1 complete the pass…2 get a P.I. call which is the same …3 it loosens the 8-9 men in the box that any smart team will employ, to further run the game plan…this has to be the design moving fwd…and lastly those deep shots should be there because we haven’t shown any of that on film, and a stop and go route should catch the CBs flat footed! I’ve said my peace
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:41 am
Everyone should be all smiles this week. The collective mood of JBF comment forums has certainly improved. 🙏🏽
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:44 am
The WRs have to step up against Chicago. Play calling has to be a lot better and the O line has to pass protect better. Baker can’t hold on to the ball too long. I actually think that the defense will be ok, but the offense has to score TDs in the red zone. Hope the TEs are actually used in the passing game.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:45 am
Todd is giddy at 3-5. Soon to be 3-6, and two weeks later 3-7. The Lions beat the Vikings!!!
But the Pom Pom squad is going to keep selling the lie that this is a good football team. The record is irrelevant to them.
Every year is the same under this “HC\DC” but he retains his employment despite never winning when it actually matters.
Five straight years of long sustained losing streaks and backing into the playoffs, except for last year’s collapse, only to fail miserably.
We’re likely stuck in this rut two more years. Thanks Glazer kids!
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:46 am
Mayfield has a bad thumb and the Bucs’ receivers are nothing special.
The Bucs’ offensive identity is OLine and TE’s carving out holes and RB’s (especially Bucky) jump cutting through them.
If the Bucs start depending on Mayfield and this receiver group, they’ll go back to turnovers and losing.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:51 am
@DR
Williams was knocked out of the Vikings game and they had Badget at QB vs the Packers.
If you want to beat the Bears you have to contain Williams or knock him out of the game completely.
The run only offense will not beat a team capable of putting up 40 points.
We might get embarrassed if Mr Mid QB is relegated to mannequin status again.
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:53 am
Atlanta beat the niners..
Any Given Sunday..
Chicago isn’t going to be able to run…
Tampa defense has been consistent all season
Chicago is gonna have their hands full..
November 3rd, 2026 at 8:55 am
NO 40 burger from Chicago, no way!
The Bears are gonna have their hands full..
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:06 am
the next two games CHI DET are sadly irrelevant to Todd Bowles’ future –
3-7 but then a winnable streak of CAR LAC BAL NO – three of four at home – so now we are 7-7 .. win 2 of 3 out of ATL LAR NO and the Bucs are 9-8 and Bowles is safe – could happen – probably will happen – Todd got lucky that BAL lost all its QBs and that LAC LAR are not performing as predicted at season’s start – Penix Shough Young all stumbling too – Bucs defense ST running game all firing on all cylinders and if Baker (or Bowles or Zac Robinson) doesn’t start doing stupid things the Bucs have a pretty good group of receivers too – none of this means that the Bucs won’t get blown out in the Divisional Round but the Glazers don’t care about that anyway – the season has exceeded their expectations already – more of the same next year – go Bucs
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:09 am
ProfessorVonDoofus,
You and your alter ego VonMunchkin just haven’t gotten past Mayfield 2024, 40+TD, 70%+ completion percentage and 4500 pass yards. Long way to go in 2026. You both will be disappointed when Mayfield lights it up as the season goes on. Going to be reminding you two frauds every Monday. Meanwhile you two band boys keep blowing on your French horns.
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:19 am
Bears 27
Bucs 10
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:19 am
ProffesorVonBrainStorm … ‘We might get embarrassed if Mr Mid QB is relegated to mannequin status again.’
I for one agree with you; running the ball exclusively has its’ pitfalls. We don’t have to throw it a high percentage of the time, but we do have to keep good defenses honest. And Chicago has a very good defense.
Baker only made 3 throws Sunday, but I thought that 2 of those SHOULD have been completed. The wet ball obviously caused problems for both QBs (Baker fumbled the snap 3 times, but recovered each one, while Penix looked like he was taking something off each pass, and that probably contributed to his 4 INTs).
I don’t think we have to ‘get elaborate’ with our passing, but ZERO passes rarely wins ballgames. I’m glad that our OLine has become ‘more beastly’ in their run-blocking, but improved pass-blocking has yet to be demonstrated.
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:30 am
I doubt we bring back Egbuka before the bye. Turf toe is a b@&%$ to heal from and he needs time. We can run on the Bears just like Atlanta, chew up the clock and dramatically limit their possessions. Throw a few times when they load the box mostly to flip field position and get into kicking/TD range. Quick slants are awesome against safeties cheating forward to stop the run.
November 3rd, 2026 at 9:41 am
Let’s see if Baker tries to be a hero which will cause us to lose our present Arian’s DC and play not to lose DC might show up again.
Baker needs to be smart and on point Sunday or the 3-28 curse might comeback to life.
November 3rd, 2026 at 10:03 am
The Bucs will throw the ball more and they should have a game plan but for me I am sticking with what has worked for them. Run the ball, control the clock. This keeps our defense rested (who are currently one of the best units in the NFL, and that’s with only two games against NfC South teams) and the opponent’s offense cold and out of sync on the sideline.
November 3rd, 2026 at 10:19 am
Happy the Bucs figured out how to play tough, physical football. Solid defense, special teams, offensive line and a sound running attack will keep the Bucs in a lot of games.
Still no faith that the coaching staff knows how to deploy their assets consistently week in and week out, nor do I believe they have any inkling of how to build a balanced offense.
Bowles defensive “genius” tends to disappear when facing the better offensive minds of the league, like McVay and Shanahan. Let’s see how he does against Ben Johnson. The Bears look ready to compete for a championship based on how they handled Seattle.
November 3rd, 2026 at 10:59 am
Thank you Steve V, a voice of reason…
I believe the game will come down to whether we can run the ball successfully. If we can’t, it might be a long day.
I will say, play action, will be huge in the this game.
The best defense is a ball control offense.
The Bears are a good team but so are the Bucs…
November 3rd, 2026 at 11:37 am
Gipper, I appreciate the posts. I usually get to these posts late after many comments have been left and often you have been saying a version of what I’ve came here to say. Professor can’t spell correctly. Always mentions the pom pom squad. I don’t know who that is. I conjecture he’s referring to fans with a positive outlook. Who, after a when, have no problems extolling the virtues of that win. Do these same fans think we’re a great team right now? I for one do not and I’m guessing that most of them don’t either. Passing game is still a disaster until it’s not. But aside from that…. The defense is balling out. I don’t need to mention the running game. Online problems seem to be solved with the exception of past blocking which remains to be seen. Special teams are so much better than they have been. A lot of positives. Or you can look at that half full glass and only see the bottom of it. Glad that’s not me.
November 3rd, 2026 at 12:00 pm
The Chicago Bears are looking more like Super Bowl contenders after soundly beating the reigning Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks in Seattle.
The Bucs have to travel to the windy city of Chicago to encounter a red hot Bears team. The Bucs have won their last two games under hostile conditions, but this will be their biggest challenge to date. The Bears are a top 5 team and raising. The Bucs were a bottom 3 team, but are now the 25th ranked team in the NFL. On paper this doesn’t look like a contest at all. If they lose a close game to the Bears on Sunday there are no moral victories. A lose is a lose and it could completely knock the Bucs out of the playoffs. I believe the Bucs could leave the windy city victories. Mayfield’s injured thumb should be healthy (healed). Their running game is running on all cylinders. That could open up their passing game with the Bears needing more defenders on the line of skimage to stop the run. This could open up passing lanes for the receivers to score. Either way this is a very close game with the Bucs eking out a 3 point victory over the Bears.
November 3rd, 2026 at 12:21 pm
One thing in all sports is something works and everybody copies it. So the pass all the time thing worked then teams ,changed to stop the pass. But what works to stop the pass may not work to stop the run. So Bowles and Robinson were genius to switch back to the run which nobody is designed to.stop. A ferocious Bears pass rush will go right past the runners. Keep running till somebody stops it. Baker has,not forgotten how to throw the ball and he will be fresh and fully healed by the time he is needed.