Todd Bowles Says Run Blocking Is Key “If We Want To Go Further”
December 8th, 2022
The old Pound the Rock slogan, even though Team Glazer has cancelled Jon Gruden, seems to have found its way back into One Buc Palace.
By golly, Todd Bowles wants to run that football, and he says it’s a huge key if the Bucs plan to be contender.
Bowles says improvement is about the offensive line caring as much about run blocking as it does protecting The Goat. The head coach ranted on the Buccaneers Radio Network about how the line must stop the holding penalties and how the running game is just a few blocks away from a much higher level of productivity.
“We gotta be more consistent and more diligent in finishing blocks, and holding them a second longer. That’s gotta be a big deal going forward,” Bowles said. “It has been a big deal all year in protecting the quarterback, it’s gotta be a big deal in the run game as well if we want to go further.”
Joe gets that the Bucs need more from their running game. It’ll help set up play-action and take pressure of the defense and Tom Brady overall.
However, the run game is not the Bucs’ strength when it comes to personnel, nor is it their strength when it comes to coaches scheming runs.
Joe hopes there’s as much focus on opening up the offense and going up-tempo as there is on, say, Donovan Smith finishing his run blocks.
December 8th, 2022 at 7:54 am
This cats in denial. Bucs are not a good rushing team. The line is average on a good day. All he’s doing is giving away downs. 3rd and long is killing all the drives. Wasting 1st down and on the rare occasion they get 2nd and short they run again instead of taking a play action shot. Good coaches game plan to your teams strengths and the opposing teams weaknesses. Bowles is stuck on his philosophy. He’s blowing it big time.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:02 am
Genius!
Obviously the DC’s around the league understand that and have planned accordingly
December 8th, 2022 at 8:04 am
People shouldn’t get mad at Bowles. He’s been entirely consistent and there’s a large enough sample size to know what he is. He’s a good defensive coordinator but he’s a below average head coach who retreats to the comfort of tiresome platitudes because he can’t articulate anything substantive. Get mad at the people who hired him to fail.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:04 am
Stop this madness!!! We are not a run first team!!!! We have a top 3 receiver core (if not the best) and this guy wants to run. My God, how can he be so stupid clueless??? The passing game will open the run game, which will open play action, as it happened in 2020. Please show Bowles the exit door right now.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:10 am
how can the O-line effectively provide blocks if the opposing defensive team already knew what’s coming. The opposing team would just basically adjust wisely.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:11 am
Coach My Scheme Part 2? Or I’m Old School and Will Stay Stay That Way Regardless?
December 8th, 2022 at 8:12 am
Bowelzo is an idiot. A bowel can’t articulate anything. It talks spit.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:16 am
Huh, that is literally the dumbest thing I think I have heard. C’mon Todd how can someone so smart with Defenses be soooooo dumb when it comes to head coaching. Of course if you block well you can run well but riddle me this. How can you block well with essentially 4 backuup O-lineman and Donovan Smith who is playing absolutely horrid this year.
Gee the Hurry up works great (one of the top 5) and statistically we are one of the worst running teams in history. So Bowles solution ? Run the football ? Of course if you can run it run it. However, a good coach plays to a teams strengths.
We have the GOAT. If we run no huddle here is what happens:
1. Defense cannot substitute.
2. They are forced to play a Vanilla defense because it is hard to get the calls in.
3. You get a couple of first downs and what happens to the D-Line ? They are exhausted and it cuts down on the pass rush. As a result a poor to average O-Line is turned into an excellent one.
4. Donovan Smith doesn’t have to move as much and gets fewer holding penalties (j/k or not)
5. Brady lights them up.
6. We Win
7. Bowles/Leftwich look like geniuses.
I mean there are some good coaches in house I am wondering if they are suffering from groupthink or just blind. Something has got to change and we are not going to all of a sudden get some good blockers in here.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:17 am
BL to the team,”let’s run left to start the game”.BOWELS—-‘good idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 8th, 2022 at 8:20 am
Scoring more points per game is key if you want to go farther.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:23 am
I am convinced he and Brady do not like each other. I agree they need to run the ball better but I don’t agree to force it. It’s almost like he wants to defy BA & Brady. This team was not a good running team the last 3 seasons, why is he so head strong in changing it. Is he prematurely changing this to prepare for next season. I am really starting to dislike this man.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:24 am
Dude is as thick as a brick and Bucs ownership and management are currently allowing a subpar product to be sold. In the real business world they would go out of business. Only in professional sports do the people pay out the nose for garbage. The only way to make these people move is to hurt their bottom line. Unfortunately, we will have many years to make them pay for their neglect.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:30 am
Does he really believe his D is good enough to stop the Eagles, Dallas, Minnesota or any of the AFC high scoring offenses? This man is delusional and should be let go immediately. Doesn’t Licht and Glazers see he is killing this teams chances?
December 8th, 2022 at 8:31 am
Jets South
December 8th, 2022 at 8:37 am
Brian Flores or Eric Bienemy.
So sick of this failed Jets clown.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:42 am
Todd is telling everyone about that LT. The last two years he played wee, however, he got hurt and is lazy. Watch him. In the run game, he pushes his man, if he doesn’t get beat, and let’s him go. He never drives his man until he hears the whistle. Like Jensen! You never see him pancake his man. He’s just standing around.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:44 am
12 games in and now we focus on run blocking…..a little late but at least it’s a focus….
December 8th, 2022 at 8:47 am
Bowles is incredibly out of touch with our reality of personnel….particularly on the o-line. At this point in the season, you shouldn’t still be coaching up run blocking. You either do it well or you don’t. It’s week 13…..and our identity is still perplexing on offense. If we flame out and Brady leaves, Bowles and Leftwich will go down as the two biggest coaching buffoons in Bucs history.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:55 am
Eff Licht, Glazers & most of all BA, he caused this mess.
December 8th, 2022 at 8:57 am
Griner released, I applaud this effort. Paul Wayland, thank you for your service, now go rot in jail.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:11 am
MAYBE the problem with our run-blocking is as much play design as it is anything else. Or MAYBE it’s that the formations & when runs are called make them so danged predictable.
Bucs don’t necessarily have to run the ball MORE, but we do have to be able to run the ball BETTER. Averaging 3.3 YPC on 33% of our plays is NOT acceptable. When you factor in penalties (hello Donnie) AND incompletions, that leaves us with far too many 3rd-and-longs. It’s impossible to sustain drives like that.
Bucs had 5 drives in the 2nd half of the Saints game: 1 fumble, 2 punts, then 2 TDs. Awesome comeback. Bucs had 7 drives in the 2nd half of the Browns: 1 TD, 1 out-of-down & 5 punts. No comeback there; matter of fact, we couldn’t even hold the lead in the 4th quarter. The difference between the 2 games was in our 2nd half ability to sustain drives. And oh ya, a little help from Lady Luck.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:35 am
Ironic how inside the red zone the first series when they went right down the field, I don’t remember a run call, I could be wrong.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:49 am
The run formations are too predictable, you all know that we literally cannot run the hurry up the whole game right??? I did watch the games where we did run it and I don’t remember scoring in those games either. This offense needs to get going. Why are people complaining about Bowles, the defense is playing good ball, I believe there will be some changes to the coaching staff at the end of the season. We can’t do anything about the coaching staff now.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:49 am
After 12 games – you are who you are – Trust me Todd Bowles isn’t changing a thing. We are going to do the same thing over and over expecting different results.
I will be shocked if we come after their QB – usually we back-off and make the young QB beat us. Issue is, San Fran is so much better than the Bucs. They don’t have an issue designing an offense around their strengths and against the other teams weaknesses.
Go Bucs! (but this is a bad match-up)
December 8th, 2022 at 9:50 am
Just when you think the excuses cannot get worse, Bowlz keeps on going…
I pray this man is fired by years end but I know it wont happen. I need a big storm beer, right now.
December 8th, 2022 at 9:51 am
First, u can run the ball if you have an effective/creative play calling scheme – This is on the HC and OC. Second, if you have a solid O-line, not somebody who is just looking for a job, that can manhandle the defensive tackles. Third, if “one-touch and goes down” 4net did not indulge on donuts during the off-season. These 3 factors will determine if you will have a success in running the ball.
December 8th, 2022 at 10:12 am
Holding blocks 1/2 – 1 second longer is saying not enough effort is being given by O line. I doubt Wirfs or Mason are guilty of this, and Hainsey shows good effort. Leverett too. Seems like Coach is taking a swipe at D. Smith.
Collectively, the unit needs to be better, that’s hard to argue against. This is one observation by Coach that makes sense, at face value. As a general philosophy, nobody is perfect and everyone can be better.
I still think this line is better at pulling and running more outside, instead of into the meat of the D with the duo blocks.
Let’s hope they get better.
December 8th, 2022 at 10:29 am
Defense Coordinator trying to also be head coach at same time…Baloney. Let him run the defense and get us a head coach. The 2 hats do not fit.
December 8th, 2022 at 10:56 am
Perfect game for four wide, up-tempo offense. Short throws minimizing the pass rush just like the Patriots did to the chargers in the playoffs a few years back. Mixing in some runs out of the shotgun. Way too much common sense for these guys though.
December 8th, 2022 at 11:02 am
“Brian Flores or Eric Bienemy”.
No, and hell no.
No more defense first HC’s and unless Andy Reid is part of the deal, no on Bienemy, too.
December 8th, 2022 at 11:11 am
He keeps calling out the line. Wirf started on a SB team and Mason has 3 or 4 rings. NOT QUALIFIED!!!
December 8th, 2022 at 11:12 am
O’Brien, Flores Quinn or Mayo
December 8th, 2022 at 11:41 am
After every game I think, they have to see the problems. So I get ready the next week to watch the the game figuring the problems have been taken care of. But for 12 straight weeks the game is played the exact same way. It’s like they made a game plan the beginning of the year and damm it we aren’t going to change it. I’m actually dreading this week’s game. I hope they do something different, but I’m afraid I’m going to be pissed off and drinking hard by half time.
December 8th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Durrrrree. It’s 1979 and we’re gonna run it up the middle durrrrree
December 8th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
NEfan…do you ever notice you talk to yourself a lot?
You have way too much time invested in OUR team,a team that’s not yours.
December 8th, 2022 at 12:07 pm
What Sparky said. Ditto!
December 8th, 2022 at 12:20 pm
get a fullback and a blocking tight end and design more than 2 schemes running the ball and perhaps you might gain 3 yards on 1st down
December 8th, 2022 at 12:24 pm
NEfan-
they don’t get it, TB-12 is in our DNA
December 8th, 2022 at 1:23 pm
Sparky. Same here. Bowles is trying the old square peg round hole routine.
December 8th, 2022 at 2:31 pm
Bucs1987, it’s far better than talking to you. This one is for you, Bowles SUCKS!!!
December 8th, 2022 at 2:55 pm
D-Rok it can’t be Smith, he has no problem HOLDING his defender.
December 8th, 2022 at 4:38 pm
We need a Head Coach. Bowles for the Defense and Lefty for the offense. we are short one coach….The Head Coach.
December 8th, 2022 at 5:45 pm
How many holding penalties for ol Durable Donnie against the niners this weekend?
I’m guessing 3.5
December 9th, 2022 at 7:17 am
2nd coming of Lovie