“It Hurts Todd Bowles’ Credibility”
October 20th, 2022
Todd Bowles
Head coach Todd Bowles took a bit of a beat down by a couple of big guns in the national media this week.
And Joe finds it hard to argue against their takes.
By now, most Bucs fans know Tom Brady skipped the Bucs’ Saturday walk-through practice in favor of attending the creepy Bob Kraft wedding on Friday night in New York. Brady did not hustle back to Tampa to work with the team before it departed for Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh.
Bowles told media this week that Brady does not get special treatment and other players have missed meetings and practices for personal reasons but it’s largely ignored because it’s not Brady.
Former Bucs quarterback Chris Simms, on NBC Sports’ PFT Live, said Bowles missed the mark by not admitting Brady gets special treatment. Simms said when he played in Tampa, Warren Sapp, Rondé Barber and Derrick Brooks “got preferential treatment,” and he’s totally fine with Brady and other greats being treated differently than average players.
Per Simms, Bowles should have been candid, which would have closed the door on people talking about the subject.
“It hurts Todd Bowles’ credibility to not say what we all know,” added iconic host Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Simms agreed and noted that Bowles should have just admitted that Brady is a 23-year legend and has a different set of rules within the team.
Joe cares little about the perception of Bowles in the national media, but Joe is interested in how players perceive Bowles.
Everyone knows Brady is Brady. Hell, the guy has his personal trainer at practice and on the team sidelines, and he took an approved 11-day siesta during training camp. So Joe sees no reason why Bowles didn’t say something like, ‘Of course things are a little different for Tom and he’s earned our flexibility,’ when he was asked if Brady gets special treatment.
Might a Bucs player or two hear Bowles’ comment and think less of the head coach for fudging the truth?
October 20th, 2022 at 12:03 am
If the Bucs win games, all will be forgiven.
October 20th, 2022 at 12:22 am
Bowles resume hurts Bowles credibility!
October 20th, 2022 at 12:26 am
Of course Brady gets special treatment.
He’s Tom Brady.
But I also don’t think it hurts Bowles credibility to say such a BS thing as pretty much all coaches would say the same thing he did.
In any case, just win, and no one is talking about any of this.
October 20th, 2022 at 12:36 am
Howard was in line at Publix today and noticed Giselle on the cover of a tabloid magazine (or as Goat farmer says: “The Horse-Faced Kommandant”)
with all kinds of nasty subtitles
October 20th, 2022 at 12:42 am
I agree. Only politicians should be able to speak literal fiction to the media, ergo, the public, when we all know we are getting straight up lied to our grill? Everybody needs this standard. CBA anyone?
While we are at it, injury reports…..
“I’m just here so I don’t get fined. “
October 20th, 2022 at 1:12 am
Maybe Jenna Lane can ask him another question about how he feels about being a black person.
October 20th, 2022 at 1:34 am
Joe in Michigan Says:
October 20th, 2022 at 12:03 am
If the Bucs win games, all will be forgiven.
________________________________
This.
Just clean up this pathetic mess and start winning.
October 20th, 2022 at 2:55 am
There is a LOT more than this that is damaging bowles credibility
October 20th, 2022 at 3:11 am
Much of a coach’s job is to inspire his team. To ignite real fire and passion in them to give it their all in every game and win at all costs. To leave it all on the field.
And I haven’t seen an ounce of fire and passion in the Bucs in 6 games now.
Or in the preseason when they lost EVERY game. I know those games are garbage, but it set off alarm bells inside me when Bowles and the team were so cavalier and dispassionate about losing all 3 of those games. It set a TONE for the season—if we lose, whatever, no big deal.
October 20th, 2022 at 4:13 am
Brady should’ve sent Trask to the wedding instead of going himself.
October 20th, 2022 at 5:04 am
Bowles did miss the mark
The Glazers missed the mark by moving a Coach to the Office and leaving the Bucs in the toilet ….
October 20th, 2022 at 5:25 am
The U.S. media has this phenomenal capacity to make a mountain out of a molehill, and in the process to miss the REAL mountain. They’ve become masters at identifying scapegoats instead of helping to educate readers on the REAL problems and how to FIX them.
Todd Bowles has a great football mind, but I doubt he’s one of the greats when it comes to ‘inspiring his team’ (as Kody seems to want). But then again, neither was General Eisenhower, and all he did was lead us to a WWII victory. Neither was General Marshall by most accounts, and all he did was create & manage the plan that rebuilt Europe.
Bruce Arians figured out after Arizona that he couldn’t be BOTH head coach AND OC. One thing I noticed is that BA very rarely got into Todd Bowles business as DC, but he sure did ‘mentor’ Byron Leftwich a whole bunch. I think we’re all seeing why now.
Bowles is approaching a crossroad I think, not unlike what happened here to another strong defensive mind, Tony Dungy. They both needed a strong OC to lead & manage that side of the ball. Dungy didn’t have that, and neither does Bowles. Dungy though, like BA, was smart enough to focus on being a head coach & let Monte Kiffin run his defense. Still, although he had winning seasons here, it wasn’t until he moved on to Indy … and was handed an awesome offense coached by Tom Moore … that he reached the pinnacle of success in the football world & won the Super Bowl.
Bucs can win it all with a truly top-ranked defense, but we’d need at least an adequate offense to complement that (aka, 2002 SB Champions with a #1 defense & #20 offense). The reverse can also hold true though, as in 2020 when we won it all with a #3 offense and #8 defense. Right now we’re closer to 2002 than we are to 2020 (#5 defense but #20 offense).
Without any changes, we’re about to go down the same path as the Bucs 1999-2001 teams led by Tony Dungy … all winning years but never could make it to the Big Dance. Tony had THREE different OCs in his last 3 years here (Mike Shula, Les Steckel & Clyde Christiansen). All 3 made the playoffs in those 3 years, but none could get over-the-hump. Bucs scored a TOTAL of 18 points in those 3 losing playoff games.
Point being: different OCs never did FIX THE REAL PROBLEM. Steckel came the closest (#6 offense that scored THREE points against the Eagles in the 2000 playoffs).
October 20th, 2022 at 5:35 am
It won’t shock me if we struggle early with Carolina….they have exactly what Bowles has a hard time game planning for which is a back up/new QB with not much tape who also is mobile. Carolina also has a new HC, which means play calling tendencies will be different than what Ruhle might have run. Bowles tends to struggle with those scenarios, just think back to the Jets game of last year or Chicago game when we lost to Foles at QB.
October 20th, 2022 at 5:37 am
Defense Rules Says:
“The U.S. media… have become masters at identifying scapegoats instead of helping to educate readers on the REAL problems and how to FIX them.”
.
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Welcome to the United States of Operation Mockingbird.
Tom Moore for offensive coordinator!
October 20th, 2022 at 6:23 am
What I cannot seem to understand is how does a team go from being amongst the highest scoring teams two year in a row with a stifling defense into this mediocre team, they got beat by even more mediocre Pittsburgh Steelers team. The games that I was confident at the beginning of the year that we would easily win, oh, I’m not sure about anything.
October 20th, 2022 at 6:29 am
October 20th, 2022 at 3:11 am
Or in the preseason when they lost EVERY game. I know those games are garbage, but it set off alarm bells inside me when Bowles and the team were so cavalier and dispassionate about losing all 3 of those games. It set a TONE for the season—
I thought similar, then I remembered he kept pounding the rock up the middle OVER and OVER (during preseason) with zero success. I figured he was throwing those games away trying to ascertain what our new line could do. It was VERY obvious we CAN’T pound the ball up the middle, and 6 games in, we’re blowing drive after drive STILL trying to do just that. It’s incomprehensible
October 20th, 2022 at 6:52 am
This subject here is the LAST thing i’m worrying about with this team.
October 20th, 2022 at 7:25 am
Everything Brady makes the headlines……not just the sports headlines….he is featured daily on news shows & in print….even the smallest thing.
There is nothing Bowles could have said either way to put an end to it…..
October 20th, 2022 at 7:40 am
Great football mind??? He’s destroying this team. How about his mid week personnel day off? He can not motivate a team and without motivation you lose more than you win. Thanks again BA for sticking the Bucs with a garbage coaching staff!!!
#whitegetsboredin4thqtrs
October 20th, 2022 at 7:40 am
What a joke. Heavy hitters. On what , the bong. Florio and Simms are a joke.
October 20th, 2022 at 7:49 am
That made me LOL!
OK, so if Florio and Simms are a joke and are not heavy hitters in the national NFL media space then who is in your opinion?
October 20th, 2022 at 8:12 am
Fix it. Move on. The margin for error decreases with every unplanned or unexpected loss. This is now up to Brady. He can’t rely on the coaches because they are feckless.
October 20th, 2022 at 8:16 am
Florio is just woke Drama man and Simms just goes along with him. Sadly we don’t have many if any true reporters left out there. Even the good ones have gone to the dark side. It’s all about being first or being outrageous. I still like Garafolo and Jeremiah or even Simms old man Phil but it gets thin after that. Hot takes have taken over.
October 20th, 2022 at 8:23 am
That’sa bit dramatic but no one would care if Bucs were playing like they are the team to beat. Everyone knew Bucs had to play well when his went to the wedding so no surprises here, they had a horrible game all around
October 20th, 2022 at 8:28 am
Listnfrmafar Says:
“Thanks again BA for sticking the Bucs with a garbage coaching staff!!!”
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A repost from my post-game commentary:
Hunter’s Crack Pipe Says:
October 16th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Is BA still spose to go in the Ring? This is the legacy he leaves the fans, and he gets in the Ring?
There’s a reason you usually wait a few years before you bestow an honor like that. Nice Super Bowl, but when you follow it up with handing over a legacy of embarrassment and incompetence by your hand-picked-and-groomed cesspool of nepotism, you kind of cancel out a bunch of the good.
You brought a lot of good coaches here, Bruce, but you left them with no leadership. The stink is going to stick to all of them. Thanks.
I think we should delay the stupid ring ceremony. Give it to Wilder.
October 20th, 2022 at 8:31 am
Whether TB gets preferential treatment or not – the media would argue both sides because they can’t wait to be critical and be negative. it easier to be negative – that’s where they exist.
October 20th, 2022 at 8:34 am
“Joe cares little about the perception of Bowles in the national media, but Joe is interested in how players perceive Bowles.”
—
ah but you better believe the Glazers do…
October 20th, 2022 at 9:51 am
Fire BYRON……
October 20th, 2022 at 9:55 am
Defense Rules Says:
October 20th, 2022 at 5:25 am
The U.S. media has this phenomenal capacity to make a mountain out of a molehill, and in the process to miss the REAL mountain. They’ve become masters at identifying scapegoats instead of helping to educate readers on the REAL problems and how to FIX them…..
YES …. its called CLICK BAIT … Its how they make a living … The more eye balls on on your TV or website = advertising revenue cash$$$… unfortunately its not about truth anymore…. its click bait
October 20th, 2022 at 10:01 am
29-44
October 20th, 2022 at 11:00 am
I didn’t know that Bowles had any street cred. The Jets decline and fall took all of it away, something like 25-49 will do that.
This was a new start, with a real contender, hope. That was a few weeks ago, though. Now his street cred is in a gutter.