Massive Change To The Bucs’ Defense
December 25th, 2022
It’s not just the Tampa Bay offense that looks a lot different this season. There has been a rarely dissected change to the defense.
Defensive playcaller/head coach Todd Bowles has strayed from his all-out blitzing style.
The Bucs led the NFL in blitz percentage last season at 45.4 percent. This season they’re down to 28.4 percent, ranking 10th in the league.
That’s a significant drop, especially when considering the Bucs were at 39 percent for 2020. And with the Jets, Todd Bowles’ teams (2015-2018) blitzed more than the Bucs do now, including seasons over 40 percent. In Arizona as defensive coordinator, Bowles was known for extraordinary blitz numbers, as well.
The scoreboard, run defense and available talent will factor into any team’s blitzing totals, but there’s no denying that the Bucs are playing more zone and straying from what might be considered typical Bowles defense in 2022.
Joe has no answers. They have to come from the mastermind himself, Bowles. But Joe will guess that the Bucs’ turnover totals are down as a result of the defensive change.
Joe is very curious to see if Bowles let’s loose the blitzing hounds tonight to come after third-string Arizona QB Trace McSorely at The Bird Cage.
December 25th, 2022 at 4:53 pm
When I read the headline I was hoping Bowels resigned.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Actually, until the Offense buried them, I thought the D played admirably when the game was in the balance most of the last game. You can’t give a good offense four or five possessions in your own part of the field continually an not expect it to break eventually.. in other words, they discovered where Delaney was playing. On the other hand, I have no clue as to what the Offense was doing in the third quarter last week.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:04 pm
Oh Well….If they lose this division maybe the Brass will flush the Toilet Bowle. NOBODY THINKS THEY CAN LOSE IT.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:10 pm
Although far from great, this year’s defense has been decent to serviceable. Their weakness however is in the turnover department. At -5 for the season, they rank near the NFL bottom in that all important category.
When I watch other games on TV, it’s fairly obvious that the defense who grabs an interception or recovers a fumble is often the deciding factor in the game’s outcome.
Just watched Tua throw three successive interceptions in the second half against an opportunistic Green Bay defense.
The results are obvious, Miami lost the game and the Bucs are likely to lose tonight if they don’t win the turnover battle.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:12 pm
Grover.. I think they can. The Panthers are on the rise, and we are stagnating to declining. I’d bet many fans that have watched football for a few decades knows that is a huge possibility.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:13 pm
This team,like I said 3 weeks ago,will not win another game this year.Yeah they are that bad..Thanks toilet bowels
December 25th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Grover… If we lose this week, we are in big trouble. A three way tie for first place. And the way this team is playing, who in their right mind would think that puts us in a good place to win the division? And then we play Carolina at home when the reality is that we have played some of our worst games at home? If we were good, we would have a two or three game division lead right now.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:25 pm
Maybe it coincides with our star safety being out?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Go Bucs!
December 25th, 2022 at 5:26 pm
LOL, perhaps Bowles has learned his lesson, after his all out Blitz against the Rams cost us that game ?
December 25th, 2022 at 5:28 pm
“Mastermind”
HA!
December 25th, 2022 at 5:29 pm
We shut down the run making other teams 1 dimensional and allowing us to pin our ears back and blitz blitz blitz.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:41 pm
Move over Brock Purdy, Trace Mcsworley is about to become the second coming of Joe Montana, if Bucs history repeats itself and makes stars of no name quarterbacks. Yes, lose the next few games to avoid a playoff embarrassment and hopefully ownership flushes the toilet Bowles.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Dewey. Seems like we always have one player sabotaging every good play we make on Defense or Offense. That is what poorly coached teams do.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:49 pm
The answer Joe is teams can run on us now, and our offense can’t score anymore. Therefore teams no longer play from behind putting them in obvious passing downs. Less opportunity to blitz.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:53 pm
Bowles and Leftwich are predictable and stubborn. Hardly great strategists, not creative, not proactive, poor at adjustments, rarely dominate games from play calling, rarely keep opposing brain trusts off balance. Bucs were extremely fortunate to have one SB, with Bowles on D (which benefitted from key veteran presence). It’s been downhill ever since.
Bowles should have gotten the message that his blitzing habit (and poor discipline=coaching) lost the playoff game vs. the Rams. But then losing JPP, Suh, etc. combined with poorly timed overcompensation results in the current morass. You don’t have great pass rushers. You don’t have a great interior D line. Right there is enough to limit anything you want to do.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:55 pm
They should’ve kept JPP Suh & Whitehead. Tryon looks like he’s not gonna turn into that much & hopefully Hall can turn into something decent. Either way they need to trade down as much as possible get more picks & address as many needs as possible. They need at least one or two OL, one DE, one DT, one S, one or two CB, maybe another LB, probably another RB, probably another WR, depending on how Otton turns out maybe a TE & depending on a QB maybe another QB. They should still consider drafting another QB anyway because I don’t trust any of the QBs coming out of Florida because most of them don’t do anything. Just by all them right there they’d have to trade down because they wouldn’t have enough picks if they don’t do much of anything in FA.
December 25th, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Cappa is another one they should’ve held onto.
December 25th, 2022 at 6:02 pm
Broncos players have quit on Denver. I turned off the tv, what an embarrassment. Shades of the Bucs in this game. Poor coaching poor playing poor effort you can tell they quit. I am going to be looking for this tonight as it will say a lot about this coaching staff and this team
December 25th, 2022 at 6:31 pm
1976 sounds like us 2022
December 25th, 2022 at 6:36 pm
I guess Bruce Arians was the driving force behind all the risk taking. Bowles is the driving force behind the boring, old school, take no chances losing. I just don’t understand how anyone can be dumb enough to inherit a winning team built for X, but insist on doing Y, and then not changing back to X when it’s obvious Y isn’t working……on either side of the ball.
December 25th, 2022 at 7:07 pm
Arians sure as hell filled this team with alot coaches and players that we need to boot next year in fact I would like to see a dual threat quarterback and jettison Gabbert and Trask too. time for a new hand
December 25th, 2022 at 7:15 pm
Disappointed, I thought Bowles resigned 🙁
December 25th, 2022 at 7:18 pm
We are weak in the trenches on both sides of the ball, that is no recipe for success, I don’t Care who’s playing quarterback for us. Carolina will run all over us next week and Bowels will not have an answer for it. This season hangs on tonight’s game, if we lose tonight you can kiss the playoffs goodbye, not like we deserve to be there anyway.
I know Joe hates the word “leader”, I don’t know why but this team is lacking leadership the way they completely fold under pressure, they lack leadership at every level, from the coaches to the players.
Game against Carolina, M1k3 drops the TD first drive of the game, the team collapsed.
Game against the chiefs, muffed kickoff to start, the team folded.
Game against the niners, BS penalty on roughing the passer, bucs quit playing after that.
Certain other games like the steelers and the ravens and Bengals, they get totally out played and out coached the second half.
If this is not lack of leadership all around I don’t what is.
Since these millionaire players can’t motivate themselves enough to play 60 minutes then you need a coaching staff that needs to do just that and the bucs clearly don’t have it.