Todd Bowles On Jordan Whitehead’s Status
September 6th, 2021
Ready.
It’s kind of hard to get on the field if you can’t practice. And that seems to be Jordan Whitehead’s biggest obstacle as we inch closer to the season opener on Thursday night.
Whitehead, the Bucs’ hard-hitting starting safety, has been nicked up all training camp — after battling The Sickness at the start of camp.
Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles gave an update of Whitehead’s status this afternoon.
Bucs DC Todd Bowles says safety Jordan Whitehead is working hard but hasn’t practiced. They’re comfortable with all the reps Mike Edwards has in the likely event Whitehead can’t go. #gobucs #nflnetwork
— Sara Walsh (@Sara_Walsh) September 6, 2021
Would Joe like to see Whitehead out there Thursday? Of course. But safety may be the Bucs’ deepest position. And Mike Edwards has played this summer like a solid if not strong starter.
Remember, in the NFC title game, most of the second half the Bucs played with backup safeties because Antoine Winfield was inactive with a bum ankle and Whitehead had to leave the game early in the third quarterback with a busted up shoulder.
Joe’s confident Edwards will do just fine if he starts.
September 6th, 2021 at 2:35 pm
Mike Edwards is arguably better than Whitehead at times, especially if whitejead is not full speed.
September 6th, 2021 at 2:42 pm
Whitehead is a thumper, we need that guy back asap.
September 6th, 2021 at 2:50 pm
Edwards starting instead of whitehead means our pass defense take a small step forward, while our run defense takes a small step back. Edwards doesnt hit as hard and will probably miss a tackle or two however i think hes better in coverage.
September 6th, 2021 at 2:53 pm
Yes we need Whitehead to anhilate CeeDee Lamb over very the middle . Always better to be able to rotate guys in and out,
September 6th, 2021 at 2:55 pm
With Edwards in I’m expecting some INT’s
September 6th, 2021 at 2:57 pm
Pretty accurate take Ftmyersbuc
September 6th, 2021 at 3:01 pm
Whitehead is the thumper and better around line of scrimmage
Edwards is better (free) safety in coverage
All good , cause winfield excels at both. His only weakness is height against taller receivers / tight ends
September 6th, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Gonna need a ball hawk out there more than a hard hitting safety. Hope Edwards a big step forward this year especially week one
September 6th, 2021 at 3:40 pm
If our offense tacks 30 plus points on the cowboys as expected than…meh. Give Whitehead another week to get his sea legs.
September 6th, 2021 at 3:51 pm
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September 6th, 2021 at 3:52 pm
Not a huge deal. Just drop or usual 30 plus on the Cowboys and paly or usual brand of D. Crap it feels good to talk with that much confidence after all of the “Decades of Darkness”.
September 6th, 2021 at 3:53 pm
Edwards knows how to find the football. I’m good with him starting any day of the week.
September 6th, 2021 at 4:09 pm
I’ve been high on Edwards all offseason. I’ll go ahead and predict a pick six from Edwards.
September 6th, 2021 at 4:15 pm
Umm edwards is ok sorry he not better than whitehead.
September 6th, 2021 at 4:30 pm
If Dak is healthy, you need everyone. While the Cowboys receivers aren’t yet on-par with the Bucs, they’re not far behind. CeeDee Lamb is going to be damn good this year and Amari Cooper has 16 catches – 193 yards and a TD vs Tampa in just two games (although almost all of that in the first game). Michael Gallop is good as a #3 WR as anyone that isn’t AB.
Also, again, keep in mind it was the injury of corner Brian Kelly that sank the 2003 Bucs. He got injured during that MNF game vs the Colts, and Manning just kept throwing at the replacement again and again and again, other teams figured that out as well, and the defense went from the best passing defense NFL history to just really really good, and Gruden’s sorry a– offense couldn’t carry their load and they went 7-9.
In other words, you need and want everyone healthy. Obviously.
September 6th, 2021 at 4:52 pm
Also, unreleated, but I’m so happy to see how mad Raiders fans are at how terrible of a job Gruden has done at drafting and with personnel moves. After that idiot won a SB with Dungy’s the team, the next year he throws a fit because Rich McKay wouldn’t sign a very old and very washed up Andre Rison – he goes to the Glazers and get McKay fired. Then he puts his stooge Bruce Allen in his place (ask the Redskins fans what they think of him) and unlike Licht, they talk about cap hell and how they can’t possibly keep the Bucs all-time great defense together, nope, Lynch has got to go, Sapp needs to get lost, there just isn’t any money… but there is money to give Charlie Garner $5m, and he plays what, parts of 3 games with us before he’s injured? He takes a team from the SB, with a roster that should compete for years for another title, to 5-11 in two years.
Now with the Raiders, he hires Mike Mayock to be his stooge and they’re blowing their draft picks and making terrible signings. This is the latest example, in 2020, they had three 3rd round draft picks — 2 of them have never played a down. LOL!
Yep, that’s Jon Gruden. Meanwhile the Bucs in 2005 need a QB and he passes on Aaron Rodgers because he hates working with young QBs, yet he sat on MNF for years talking about how angry he was that the Bucs (like it wasn’t him making the pick) skipped on Rodgers when many, if not most, draft pundits had the Bucs taking Rodgers.
He’s just a huge d-bag and I’m so glad that the Bucs won another SB so we don’t have to hear about what a brilliant guy he is. He’s not. He won a SB with Dungy’s team – the defense was 100% Dungy/Kiffin, all Gruden had time to screw with in that offseason was the offense, which was mediocre. But as Gruden sunk in his teeth, got McKay fired, started running off Bucs legends, we saw what he is – a slightly more streaky Jeff Fisher.
September 6th, 2021 at 7:35 pm
Rod…Gruden added like 25 new players prior to winning the SB with HIS team.
McCardell, Jurevicious etc
Such nonsense this Dungy’s team.
September 6th, 2021 at 7:36 pm
Oh but I still root against him and the Raiders…
Anyone getting paid that kind of coin better produce and fast…he hasn’t.
September 6th, 2021 at 7:59 pm
Buc1987 – you mean Rich McKay added those players.
Gruden got control of the team during the 2003 season after he got McKay fired, then made brillant signings like Charlie Garner, Derrick Deese and Todd Steussie – while squealing about how he can’t win because of the salary cap.
September 6th, 2021 at 8:31 pm
@ Rod nice rant BUT the Bucs would not have won the SB without Gruden’s offensive input! He did work the roster over as previously stated and they were victorious because of that. Gruden has issues and is not good at building a team but he is supreme at entertaining and making $. Yes Dungy brought them to that precipice but due to his blind spot of handcuffing the offense and his in ability to jettison weak offensive coaches there was no way he was going to win a SB with this team. I have the utmost respect for Dungy as he transformed the Bucs but it was’t until he found the Colts with an intact offense that he knew he had to let them do what they do to win his SB.
September 6th, 2021 at 8:39 pm
While at it the Bucs should have won at least one or two more SB’s with that once in a lifetime defense they had but… the stubborn attention or lack of with attention for the offense from TD cost them that. Ask the players…
September 6th, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Greg – Steve Spurrier would have won the SB with that team. It was their time to win a SB. And if Spurrier won a SB, then destroyed the defense to sign Daniel Wuerffel, Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green to huge big money deals while cutting Lynch and telling Sapp to hit the road, I’d be saying he won with Dungy’s team as well.
That defense is the reason we won. It had nothing to do with the offense, and in fact the 2001 offense was better than the 2002 offense. Gruden, like an idiot, held back the offense by continuing to have Michael Pittman run into the back of his offensive lineman on every play while rarely using Alstott who was still ultra productive and wasting away.
The defense was just ready, it wasn’t going to let the sorry a– offense hold it’s back, and in 2002 they literally put together the best passing defense in the history of the game, and arguably the best overall defense in the history of the league. That was just their year. Gruden had zilch to do with it other than just being a different voice. The shock of firing Dungy is what lead to that, who replaced him, as long as the defense was left in tact, and it was, didn’t really matter.
September 6th, 2021 at 9:23 pm
Hot Rod’s Hot Take Tonight ain’t half bad actually…Gruden sure did soil the sheets when he uttered “Tampa…you ain’t seen nothing yet!” He did have a big hand in that SB win though. I’m just glad Gruden leveraged the Bucs “interest” in Dutch Boy Davis signing him to the 10 year/100 million dollar deal. That will not end well. At all. Enter BA…a confirmation that Winny ain’t the guy…lobby for Tom Brady through the media/Joe’s question ( you go, Joe! ) and the rest is Super Bowl history.
September 6th, 2021 at 10:36 pm
I’m with Rod on this one. Getting McKay fired ended our chance at dynasty.
Gruden and Mayock are outmatched.
September 6th, 2021 at 10:39 pm
Our secondary gave up all of 8 tds in the playoffs in four games, they will be ok until Whitehead comes back or even if he doesn’t. Them boys went thru the fire and all they got was their hair singed.
If it wasn’t for that defense Dungy trained and some additional defensive draft picks like Dwight Smith, Gruden might not have even made the playoffs. The defense scored 7 tds that year 3 in the Super Bowl alone so you do the math. If Pat Callahan wasn’t so arrogant about not changing up his offense, our players might not have known so much of what plays were coming up like SLUGGO C.
Somebody called Gruden a used car salesman and he proved that correct when he ran this team into the ground to the point our icons didn’t even want to come back on 1day contracts to retire as Bucs like you see other players do. I give him his due for the offense but it was that Dungy/Kiffen defense who got him there. Dunngy had impeccable character his biggest football sin was he was super conservative/stubborn on offense.
September 6th, 2021 at 11:25 pm
Jmarkbuc – I’d only mildly disagree with you on that, I don’t think Mayock has a say in what is happening, he’s just the guy Gruden paid to take the heat for his terrible decisions. Like how Gruden always blamed Bruce Allen for skipping on Rodgers, when we all know it was Gruden who made that call. It wasn’t Allen picking up the phone to trade for Jake Plummer, it was Gruden. It wasn’t Allen who tried to trade for Favre, it was Gruden. He’s a dictator, and if it was the 80s and still acceptable he’d be like Ray Perkins, being the GM and coach and even working the contracts.
I do think if he was only a coach and had no say in personnel he’d probably do better, but then again he’s got a 10-year deal paying $100-million, so how much better could he have done? I’d certainly love to have that amount of ‘failure’.
September 6th, 2021 at 11:50 pm
BTW for any of you kiddies that don’t know, here’s how dominant that 2002 Bucs defense was in the playoffs… Remember, they played all top 10 offenses in the playoffs, including the leagues #1 offense.
2002 Defense Passing – 3 games, 648 yards allowed, 2 TDs, 9 INTs, 5.3 yards ypa, 53.7% comp, 11 sacks and a 45.9 QB rating…
But the 2002 Bucs defense, they sucked against the run… uh, no, that would be fake news. Here’s the numbers…
2002 Defense rushing – 3 games, 161 yards, 3.6 avg, 1 TD
So, for the playoffs, the defense gave up 3 TDs, but scored 5 TDs. Counting in the 4 FGs against, the 2002 Bucs defense gave up a net 1 point a game.
That is as dominate as it gets. Literally, that is as dominate as it gets.
Just for fun, here’s the 2020 Bucs defense that got hot in the playoffs…
2020 Defense passing – 4 games, 1036 yards allowed, 6 TDs, 7 INTs, 6.3 ypa, 59.7% comp, 10 sacks and a 72.9 QB rate
2002 Defense rushing – 4 games, 364 yards, 4.5 avg, 2 TDs
The 2020 Bucs defense in the playoffs gave 19.5 points per game, net.
Taking nothing away from the 2020 Bucs defense, but they are not even remotely in the same league as the 2002 Bucs defense. In the playoffs you’re talking about a difference of 18.5 points per game difference. That is insane, and how good that 2002 Bucs defense was.
September 7th, 2021 at 7:17 am
Nice job Rod.
Never really understood how Chucky can be a QB whisperer, but he never developed one. And I agree, if you take away Chucky’s say in personnel, he is a good coach (not sure about “awesome”), but good. I think I would take BA and several others over Chucky.
September 7th, 2021 at 11:53 am
Edwards better pass defender. Whitehead better run defender.