The Bigger Fumble
December 18th, 2022
Joe is wondering which is worse, the bobbled handoff between Tom Brady and Leonard Fournette this evening or the one from Bucco Bruce Arians to Todd Bowles.
The former resulted in a turnover and replays showed it was Brady’s fault. The ball squirted out of his hand before the exchange.
As for the latter, well, Bowles was handed a large and experienced Super Bowl coaching staff with a roster full of seasoned and tested veterans. But somehow players and coaches often look like overmatched rookies in their roles.
How does that happen?
After today’s game, Bowles talked about how his Bucs don’t handle adversity well. That had Joe firing a Big Storm beer against the wall of JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters. No, Coach, today you didn’t handle success well.
The Bucs jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead and got the ball to start the third quarter, and then the Bucs proceeded to look like a club uncomfortable playing in that situation — at home.
Joe has seen more poise from a winless junior varsity girls basketball team taking its first fourth-quarter lead of the season.
Reasoned and seasoned Bowles went full blown panic mode calling for a fake punt on his own 26 yard line with a 14-point lead.
Then Tom Brady turned into a jumpy rookie handing out turnovers on four consecutive possessions. And the third quarter also featured Lavonte David and Ko Kieft getting hit with big penalties while Russell Gage had a crushing drop. (Joe will give Deven Thompkins a break because he’s a total newbie rookie, but rookie Kieft has played long enough to know better and his five penalties this season put him atop the NFL’s list of penalized tight ends. Stop holding!)
Bucs coaches were never able to adjust successfully and it sure seems like Brady, who was used to 22 years of hard coaching, may be falling apart without that in-your-face coaching style from Arians and Bill Belicheat.
No matter how you spin it, the Bucs look like a team lacking leadership and effective direction.
Joe sees no evidence that the Arians-Bowles succession plan has worked, a costly late-March fumble that is delivering a lot of pain and remorse.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:03 pm
It’s better for all concerned we not reach the playoffs
Horrible take. –Joe
December 18th, 2022 at 11:04 pm
Did you really expect this to work? Bowles record with the Jets was going to magically change here? If you did you were fooling yourself.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:06 pm
Everyone knows the coaching sucks, Joe. Come up with some new material.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:08 pm
We don’t owe anything to Brady, he will not be a Buc if he plays next year.
Use the rest of the season to play Trask to see if he has a chance next year. If Trask doesn’t show, not necessarily W-L well then a new Quarterback is at the top of the list.
I don’t want this coaching staff next year.
Jason has a TON of work to do and it could be argued he has been too patient this year.
They have looked lost the whole year.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Little do fans forget that this team literally had the worst winning percentage in NFL history…
December 18th, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Watching brian daboll right now makes me jealous. How on earth did anyone not have a little doubt when Todd bowles was hire. Bad coaching can always overcome good players.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:11 pm
Brady will hold another record first at the end of the season.
Just like he was the first QB to win a SB in his home stadium.
He will be the first to win a SB with a losing record.
TOP THAT RAMS!!!
NFL IS RIGGED!!!
December 18th, 2022 at 11:13 pm
So, the coaching staff puts a great game plan together, we have great execution for two quarters and take nice lead into the locker room at half. A fake punt play that was practiced all week is called. The guy whose number is called is a seasoned vet, a guy you’d expect the coaches to run the play. But Gino misses the call, fumbles the ball, we turn it over on downs on our own 16. Then Brady implodes.
And Joe puts out another piece on ….. bad coaching.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:14 pm
It’s so weird how the D often starts strong and then collapses when the other makes adjustments. That’s on the coaches.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:18 pm
78 points in two games, that’s all you need to know. Bad HC, Bad DC.
Four turnovers is unacceptable, for td’s off turnovers is Bad football.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:21 pm
Crackwise is either a troll or really on crack. There’s no chance this team has any playoff success. Even f they host a game, it’ll be against a team with a winning record. Bucs will likely finish 8/9.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:23 pm
It wasn’t a stretch in the slightest for people to foresee this season would be a disaster the moment they named Bowles as HC!
surely The Jets would love to forget he was ever their coach and I’m sure even more sure the Bucs want to forget he was ever here…
December 18th, 2022 at 11:28 pm
Everyone thought this team would lose today. No one should be surprised by today’s outcome. My biggest worry is potential fracture in the locker room between the offense and defense. The defense has to be frustrated by the offense for not playing complementary football, and today’s debacle on offense might be the ultimate tipping point. All fingers will point to Brady and rightfully so. Brady has always said he never wants to be the reason why the team loses, and today he was mostly responsible for today’s loss. I will say that the Bucs didn’t help him by making any adjustments. The OL looked confused by all the stunts in the second half. The communication was awful.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:33 pm
Todd makes Lovie seem competent.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:36 pm
Yeah, it turns out that Leftwich sucks, but Bowles makes it worse. I still think Bowles gets another year to funk up again, and maybe they’ll improve with a decent OC next year… but he’s just not good. His explanations suck. He doesn’t seem to have decent situational strategy. I’m not optimistic that he can be a quality HC even if he corrects the offensive coaching situation.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:36 pm
The banged up giants are 8-5-1 lmao. Coaching coaching coaching
December 18th, 2022 at 11:37 pm
Both Bruce and Todd seem like really good men from my perspective, but only one of them is worthy of being a head coach. What Arians did for his friend is admirable, but this Todd Bowles experiment has failed miserably. Todd is a damn good and sometimes great defensive coordinator, but he’s a terrible head coach. Both Todd and Byron should have been fired last month, but does it really matter now? Hopefully ownership will do the right thing and clean house, but I won’t hold my breath since they seem incapable of doing the right thing on a consistent basis.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:41 pm
Brady is over the hill. Leftwich is an incompetent idiot. Bowles can’t lead or strategize.
Not a recipe for success any way you slice it.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:43 pm
Bowles as a head coach loses five for every 3 he wins.
That would but the season between 6 and 7 wins. 6-11, 7-10, 8-9, 9-8… which horse would you pick at this point?
December 18th, 2022 at 11:45 pm
Todd Bowles was a very bad hire from the start.
Bowles and Arians are total polar opposites when it comes to coaching and coaching philosophy.
Bowles is a conservative defensive minded coach who wants to play very cautious and try to grind it out on offense to control the ball to keep his defense off the field and limit the opponents number of possessions.
Arians wants his offense to start the game fast with their hair on fire to see how quickly and far they can get ahead of and outscore their opponents.
How Licht and the Glazers could replace one with the other is beyond me.
Bowles has tried to change everything that was working and change the identity of this team.
If the Glazers are talked into giving Bowles another year then next year will look just like this year.
December 18th, 2022 at 11:49 pm
You could look at many ways. Bowles has had terrible start to this year and I’ll defend him here. Brady going on vacation and wanting days off, going to weddings put Bowles in tough spot with this team. The team probably looking at Bowles and Brady like wtf. Trust me, it’s hard for them to concentrate under these circumstances. And then the offense is garbage…..Well.. Go figure. This is my opinion about this
December 19th, 2022 at 12:00 am
END THE SEASON ALREADY!
No one wants to watch this terrible team in the playoffs.
December 19th, 2022 at 12:01 am
Brady can not carry these blundering bozos around on his back and he is not Superman. He is GOAT. Leave Brady alone this disaster is not on him.
December 19th, 2022 at 12:02 am
Aaron Rodgers is witnessing what happens with an older QB who maybe has lost a little mojo. Aaron himself has looked old. I think Rodgers will retire in two years. There’s no way he’s going out like Brady by looking like a complete shell of himself.
December 19th, 2022 at 12:05 am
Ariens lurks in the Boxes upstairs over the stadium like a Buzzard waiting for a carcass to ripen. Get him and his horrible coaches OUT. W/O Brady it will be even more miserable next year. Brady is going to get out of Dodge as fast as he can in 3 weeks.
December 19th, 2022 at 12:35 am
Brady’s the best thing to ever happen to the Buc’s. Less than 2seasons ago it was 10 years
since Tampa Bay was in the playoffs & now you “fans” are to good for them. And Bucsfan13 I could give a sh’t when Aaron Rodgers is going retire or anything else about him. It’s funny how Brady’s shell is still better than your boy AR.
December 19th, 2022 at 1:27 am
Joe: I saw the early lines out of Vegas: Bucs by 4 in the desert? Can we say trap? This is exactly the type of game Bowels and Leftwich lose in Cojonne blasting fashion. BTW I think Beej was just sayong that 6 dash 11 would get Bowels fired along with Leftwich, making the playoffs means that those 2 will likely be around next season, it is a thing to consider as everyone knows that both are over their head and the Bucs are heading into cap hell in 2023.
December 19th, 2022 at 4:09 am
Trap game? A speed bump right now is hard for this team to drive over.
The rudderless good ship Buccaneer is shipwrecked for the foreseeable future until a new cycle of coaches and talent.
It is going to be hard for Bowles to not have a losing record.
It is looking like 7-10 maybe
The seat under Bowles has reached volcanic hot.
Hasta La Vista bro. The door is over there.
December 19th, 2022 at 6:57 am
I’d really like to know how Bowles could show his face in public after this latest embarrassment. He’s the leader of this shyt show. Game after game after game after game he says the same shyt.
3 words…..DEAD MAN WALKING.
December 19th, 2022 at 7:51 am
Trolls are in heaven today. Talk of benching Brady for Trask!! Tradk is not an NFL quarterback. Will never throw more than seven touchdowns in a season. Enjoy your gloating. Comparing Brady to Aaron Rodgers right now? Brady is 46 and still playing at a higher level than Roger’s. Rodgers throws the ball sideways. Brady throws the ball down the field. Rodgers throws the guys are wide open and misses everyone 10 yards down the field. Brady throws are contested. Rogers has the best backfield in the league, and a top-five office of line. It hasn’t thrown for 300 yards in almost 2 years!! Enjoy your gloating trolls. The Super Bowls really did happen. He’ll be gone next year, and you guys will be a irelevant for the next two decades. But he’s going to win the next three games and will beat Dallas!!
December 19th, 2022 at 7:52 am
Bucs coaches havent been able to make in game adjustments all year so it aint going to happen in wk14
December 19th, 2022 at 8:12 am
Bowles has just reinforced why he got the ax in NY
Time for the ax to fall in Tampa
December 19th, 2022 at 8:16 am
The hand-off from Bruce to Todd was by far the worst.
Todd Bowles guided Tom Brady to his first losing season, ever.
December 19th, 2022 at 8:20 am
79 points in 2 games!!! Turning over the ball doesn’t allow a D to let the opponent walk into the end zone. Capt. White (the invisible man) the second 1/2 as always did NOTHING!!! I did see him almost trip over his feet again chasing down Mixon. LVD, Davis (my apologies), Nelson and Neal were all I saw, JTS made his one play of the game. How is 79 points overlooked???
December 19th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Bowles is a leader of 11 not 53
December 19th, 2022 at 9:14 am
After yesterday, I’d gladly trade the Bucs defensive front with the Bears. The lowly Bears have a better defense than the Bucs.
The “no name” Jags have a much better offense than the Bucs. What do you expect when your head coach has the smarts on offense.
Defense is complimentary but offense wins in this league. Just tell that to Bowles after 33 straight points in the second half and to Jeff Saturday after 36 straight points in the second half.
Winners don’t sit on the ball. Winners don’t have predictable offenses.
Tony Romo was very smart when he noticed the motion and shifting the Bucs were doing in the first half. Then in the second have the real Bowles predictable offense returned for another losing half.
December 19th, 2022 at 9:18 am
The first half proved this team has talent. They were well-coached and played well for an entire half. It blew me away – I thought they had woken up. Whomever designed the calls on O did an outstanding job. I was quite impressed.
Then the second half happened. What happened at halftime? The entire team just melted down. Coaches reverted to their old selves. Brady melted down and had the worst quarter I’ve ever seen from him – he just doesn’t make that many mistakes in a row. The D fell asleep. Penalties, turnovers, fake punts gone awry….total team meltdown.
Still, I certainly never expected that first half, which shows they CAN be competent, competitive, and dare I say, dominant? Either they were dominant, or Cincy was toying with them, like the Ravens did.
I’m just shaking my head this morning. Not sure whether to be excited about the first half or embrace the suck of the 2nd half.
December 19th, 2022 at 9:22 am
Arians championed diversity, a great cause, but went about it the wrong way. Now both Bowles and Leftwichs future look bleak.
December 19th, 2022 at 9:30 am
Bias aside, I do not want to see this team in the playoffs. They don’t deserve it and they’re a 1 and done team. The coaches don’t deserve it either. I hope Jason Licht and BA are in discussions with the Glazers. This is sh-$& show.
December 19th, 2022 at 9:47 am
@AmauryGuzman
I did have doubts when Bowles was made coach, and posted those doubts here too. I posted that the guys at my local Sports Bar literally hated Todd Bowles.
Most of these guys are from New York, and remember Bowles when he was coach of the Jets.
They called him “Toilet Bowles”
But back then, the season had not started, and Bowles was still on his Honeymoon as Tampa Bay Coach.
Well, the Honeymoon is over, and it is looking very much like the Guys from the Sports Bar were right.
December 19th, 2022 at 10:52 am
I think even BA is surprised how bad these coaches are.
December 19th, 2022 at 11:34 am
BA accredited these guys as HC and OC. Also pretty much the same coaching staff as SB LV and 2021. They are beat up and looking ugly, especially on offense, starting from the HC to OC to QB and down.
December 19th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Todd Bowles career head coaching resume:
6 seasons, 3 teams
32 wins 49 losses
0 playoff appearances
Bowles is who he is. Jets fans absolutely hate him, and consider him perhaps the worst coach they ever had. There weas no other NFL team that would have ever hired him to be their head coach.
December 19th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Can quarterback’s file a grievance with the NFL?
Brady was the victim or late hits and unnecessary roughness on several passes that were released and he was tossed around after the ball went out.
I thought the refs were supposed to take into account whether the ball had been released early enough.
Also Godwin took a hit to the helmet from a Bengal DB who hit him on the side of helmet. Replay showed clearly helmet to helmet contact. Plus he was defenseless because another DB had him wrapped up.
All year long see ticky tack roughing and defensive-less WR hits called and when its the Bucs, they don’t throw the flag.