Bucs’ Big Blitzing Dropoff Is Explained
January 18th, 2023
Tampa Bay had 47 sacks last season and 45 this season. Those are strong season totals by NFL standards.
However, the pass rush looked a lot different. Even novice fans without a data-nerd subscription could see a change.
The Bucs blitzed 45.4 percent of the time a year ago, the highest rate in the NFL. For the 2022 season, that total was down to 28.1 percent, 10th-most often in the game.
It’s a massive departure from the way Todd Bowles defenses have operated through the years. At yesterday’s season-ending news conference, Joe asked Bowles why the dropoff was so severe.
Bowles cited a kitchen sink full of factors.
“Injuries in the secondary and just coverage and matchups, and then people up front. Having to double better receivers I think this year, with [Ja’Marr] Chase and all those guys,” Bowles began. “In the past, you know, we could zero out a little bit more (referring to the all-out “zero” blitz call). And sometimes you have to change things up. I think we’re somewhere close in the [total] sack vicinity [versus last season]. And you get behind or closer games so you have to be a little bit more conservative, but there’s no one reason why we did it. It’s just a cat-and-mouse game.”
Joe appreciated the comprehensive answer, and it tied to what was discussed last week on The Ira Kaufman Podcast. The Bucs likely were blitzing less, in part, because they didn’t have an offense that could cover for getting burned by a wildly blitzing defense.
Most defensive playcallers feel more aggressive with an offense that routinely scores three or four touchdowns per game like the Bucs did in 2019, 2020 and 2021. This year’s offense? Well, Byron Leftwich.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:08 am
Not only do we need to replace our O.C., we need to replace our D.C. also. Yes, Bowles needs to fire himself. It’s quite obvious he can’t be both a good H.C., and D.C. at the same time. Pick one. Hopefully with another team.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:14 am
On the button Hodad! Bowles proved that nearly every game this year. What a waste of a season.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:14 am
Injuries along the OL left me concerned for any post season ambitions. But it was once Shaq went down for the year, I knew was going to be the nail in the coffin for the year.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:22 am
Boles needs to include himself and “Left Field” Leftwich when he’s criticizing his players for poor performance. The secondary played like crap.
They single handedly lost this game. Oh, excuse me Mr. “No Balls” Boles…aren’t you the Defensive Guru???
Boles and Leftwich messed
up this whole season.
Licth needs to grow some balls and fire both.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:23 am
Boles needs to include himself and “Left Field” Leftwich when he’s criticizing his players for poor performance. The secondary played like crap.
They single handedly lost this game. Oh, excuse me Mr. “No Balls” Boles…aren’t you the Defensive Guru???
Boles and Leftwich messed
up this whole season.
Licth needs to grow some balls and fire both.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:24 am
Bowlzo must go!
January 18th, 2023 at 10:27 am
No risk it no biscuit and NO BISCUITS for Todd Bowels!!!!
January 18th, 2023 at 10:27 am
The answer is actually more simple than this, it’s easier to blitz with a lead, and especially double digits. What percentage of the year did the Bucs lead??? 7%??? Previous years probably over 60 to 70%
January 18th, 2023 at 10:42 am
A very rare substantive answer from the BUCS HC. I guess he should remain HC after all. (Yeah, right).
January 18th, 2023 at 10:45 am
Fire the incompetent. Brian Flores or Eric Bienemy.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:47 am
Secondary issues were far greater in 2021 than this year. We brought Richard Sherman and Pierre Desir back from the graves to fill in for the multitude of injuries we had. Don’t tell me injuries are the reason we didn’t blitz as much, that can be easily proven false.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:50 am
W didn’t have enough DBs to blitz later in the season.
The Bucs also had some backups on the defensive line area that were more effective than the starters. Anthony Nelson, Nassib, Gholston and nacho came in and made things happen.
The drop in blitzes wasn’t planned, it was just about personnel issues. Too many injuries.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:50 am
Interesting stat y’all might want to ponder.
On scoring, this season, “One TD Tommy” threw for an average of 1.5 TD’s per game. Offense scoring overall, 1.8 TD’s per game. That’s per a quick Google inquiry.
With those numbers, you can’t do anything. Blitz, win, stuff like that!
January 18th, 2023 at 10:57 am
Bowles playing conservative cost this team 2 or 3 wins. Especially Monday Night. At the start of that game he was blizing. The defense was getting of the field. Then he went to a soft zone. We all know how that turned out. Fire Mr. CONSERVATIVE!!
January 18th, 2023 at 11:00 am
Hire Sean Payton.
January 18th, 2023 at 11:05 am
This season just flat out sucked. Coaches, players, schemes, injuries, just all of it.
January 18th, 2023 at 11:14 am
Can someone explain how after 5 yrs. in the same defensive system we continue to have guys running wide open? That to me is the unacceptable part. Some guys look like they are playing zone, some look like they are playing man on the same play. Play ends and they all just look at each other…..that’s coaching or just dumb.
January 18th, 2023 at 11:18 am
Translated: “I don’t know what I’m doing and just taking shots in the dark.”
January 18th, 2023 at 11:19 am
It’s a simple question: With the talent the Bucs had, was a losing record and a pants-down spanking on the first MNF playoff game, which was viewed by 30 million people, acceptable to the Glazers?
If not, there will be change.
January 18th, 2023 at 11:23 am
Who thought it was a good idea for the Bucs sign Bowles to a 5 year contract?
January 18th, 2023 at 11:26 am
Those words from Bowles make some sense, for a change.
When is Leftwich scheduled to speak this week about his offensive offense? I hope soon, because I need a good, hearty laugh after Monday’s Depress-O-Rama of a game. Just let me know ahead of time so I can have the popcorn ready.
GO BUCS!!! Next year, but still…go bucs?
January 18th, 2023 at 11:46 am
excuses are tools of the incompetent
January 18th, 2023 at 12:11 pm
WHY ARE THESE BOZO’S SILL THE COACHES? THEY SHOULD HAVE WALKED THE PLANK BY 12:00PM YESTERDAY TUESDAY JAN. 17TH!!!!!
January 18th, 2023 at 12:18 pm
I wonder if the all out blitz in the Rams game made him not blitz as much also
January 18th, 2023 at 12:40 pm
I would like to point out that when he coached the Jets, Bowles’ defense had a big drop-off as well.
January 18th, 2023 at 1:56 pm
If you want a good laugh look at the draft picks Todd made while the head coach of the jets? Don’t worry with Todd we are guaranteed a top 5 draft pick next yr……maybe that’s what the Glazers really want.
January 18th, 2023 at 4:31 pm
I am still up-in-the-air about this sucky team and I think I just saw Bowles’s head float by. I don’t know much about play-calling at all, but the last two years, when we were winning, I didn’t hear so much about how bad Leftwitch was doing. Was he so predictable then? Our OC hasn’t changed. The team has, and the HC has. I saw terrible decisions with time and cowardly 4th down plays that I never saw in the past two years. I saw a coach firing Darden way too late and THEN saying he did nothing wrong when he was even backing up and letting a kicked ball right in front of him roll toward the endzone (which was ridiculous!). I think it is Bowles, really. The players changed but every team has that and Bowles didn’t seem to know how to accommodate this.
January 18th, 2023 at 10:05 pm
Need Shaq back and still need to find another edge rusher. Year 3 is the last year JTS gets to make a big leap forward and get a minimum of 9 to 10 sacks and twice the pressures.
Bowles is very good but when they can’t get a pass rush and he drops everyone in to zone, they get slaughtered. These guys are better at press coverage. But I get it, hard to be good on defense without consistent edge rushers.
January 18th, 2023 at 11:02 pm
We also have basically one blitz. Send the ILB’s up the A-gap. Dallas just blocked inside out and easy peasy open dudes all over. I think we ran one corner blitz which was telegraphed and torched. Lack of creativity and deception from coaching both sides of the ball.