Irked at rushing yards allowed.

Since Todd Bowles arrived to take over the Bucs defense, he has turned the Bucs into a total force against the run.

The Bucs stop the run so well, some teams throw in the towel on running the ball before kickoff. That’s mad respect.

The Bucs allowed 100 yards on the ground six times last year in 20 games, including four postseason wins,

Last Thursday was the first time the Bucs allowed 100 yards rushing all season. And Bowles knows it. And he’s not happy.

“I don’t need to remind them,” Bowles said of his players coughing up triple-digits on the ground. “The film speaks for itself. We just try to get better every week and work on the little things.

“Even though [the biggest runs] happened late in the game, we can’t let that happen – from a coaching [standpoint], as far as calling the game, and as far as them making plays playing the game. We work at it every week.”

Rarely allowing teams to move the ball on the ground is a big source of pride for Bowles and the defense.

One pattern with the Bucs the past two seasons is when the team focuses on a specific element to correct during the week, come gametime there is nothing to correct.

So to paraphrase a famous citizen of Chicago, Mr. T, Joe pities the poor Bears running backs this Sunday.