Todd Bowles Sends Message To Running Backs
August 11th, 2024
“I’m talking about you, No. 1.”
Look, most coaches, if they are savvy enough, love to send messages through the Fourth Estate in a effort to motivate players or perhaps make a point to their team.
It seems Bucs coach Todd Bowles did just that this morning.
One major effort the Bucs have made through the offseason into underwear football season — stretching through training camp and now into worthless preseason games — is that the run game must improve.
Joe sure hopes so! The Bucs were the worst rushing team in the league the past two years. For that to happen a third straight season is just plain unacceptable.
So why not use all options available, ncluding direct and indirect messages through media availabilities?
In his day-after presser, Bowles was asked about last night’s run game. While speaking about Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker, Bowles had a not-so-veiled comment at the man who led the league’s worst rushing attack the past two seasons.
“I think the biggest thing is they’re getting downhill,” Bowles said of Irving and Tucker’s play in last night’s preseason win over the Bengals. “Nobody is dancing back there like they were in the past.
“They understand where the holes are a little better and they’ve gotten a year to mature – at least Sean does, Bucky is a natural runner like that.
“They’re recognizing the holes and they’re doing a good job in practice of seeing where it has to be and they’re exploding through it.”
Last year when Joe mentioned there were holes to run through for Rachaad White yet he chose either not to run through them or not read his blocker’s arses (Running the Ball 101: If your blocker’s arse points one way, that’s where you run because that’s where your blocker has leverage on a defender). Yet whenever Joe mentioned this, some commenters on this here corner of the interwebs came at Joe like angry hornets
It’s good that Bowles publicly acknowledged what Joe also saw last season.
It’s also good in Joe’s eyes that Bowles seems fully fed up with poor running. And if it takes public jabs to motivate someone, so be it.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:14 pm
Ruh roh
Ra“cha cha ad” getting called out👍🏻
August 11th, 2024 at 12:15 pm
I’ll tolerate you till I can replace you. Starship Troopers!
August 11th, 2024 at 12:20 pm
I’d like to see a poll if readers think preseason games are worthless. I truly don’t think Joe even believes it, but since it gets responses and adds to the discussion he will continue to say it.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:24 pm
You would truly be wrong.
Once again, the NFL will survive if not thrive without them. If these worthless preseason games are so vital, how did the Bucs win a Super Bowl without playing one?
If preseason games were meaningful, you’d hear the control-freaks college coaches screaming to play them.
It’s a big con man, from the NFL industrial complex. They’ve got otherwise intelligent people hoodwinked into thinking they are important.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:24 pm
And that’s the way to do it. Don’t call out the man, call out the behavior. The running game gets dissed by fans in the pass friendly NFL, but on those crappy weather days a good running game is a coaches best friend.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:25 pm
I agree Dewey. When joe finds a pov he likes he defends it like a rabid Pit Bull.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:38 pm
Preseason games are worthless to fans, anybody with any semblance of an evaluators eye cares about every rep no matter the importance of the game. It’s as close to saying “practice doesn’t matter” when it does, or “underwear football is useless” when it’s not because as spectators were not keyed in on what these guys have to learn. Just go listen to Tykee break down his film, how he knows multiple assignments of the players around him and how that affects him, that’s classroom work. Fans don’t pop for education, just the skull cracking
August 11th, 2024 at 12:39 pm
I see a value in preseason games to be able to evaluate all the new talent. Coaches are able to see what back up players have or have not improved.
It allows them to build a decent depth chart going into the season…what I don’t like is both punter and kicker are not back ups but played like they were, that is concerning.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:47 pm
I’m still going to disagree about the preseason games, because practices don’t tell you how guys play “when the lights are on”. Some fold under the pressure, while other guys turn their game up a notch, and the preseason lets you evaluate who they are.
August 11th, 2024 at 12:58 pm
The SB year was awfully sloppy at the start and through the midpoint.
The real reason the preseason has become “pointless” is because the average starting salary has reached astronomical numbers. That’s the bottom line. Coaches and ownership want to protect their investment. But, these coaches still need to evaluate the rest of the talent to finalize the 53-man roster.
Where else are the players going to be able to hit players not on their team? Scrimmages are cherry-picked sessions, they don’t replace a real game. What better way to try out players at various positions and also practice new league rules?
You want to experiment when the games actually count?
August 11th, 2024 at 1:02 pm
I said it last year, Tucker and Palmer are going to be big names for us. I don’t really see a place for Edmonds in this backfield though maybe that’s just wishful thinking 🤷🏻♂️
August 11th, 2024 at 1:03 pm
If I’m paying for a ticket and concessions in a hot afternoon, I sure as heck don’t want to be watching a preseason game from week 1-6 of the actual season.
August 11th, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Last night, Sean Tucker looked like a different player…..amazing burst and speed!
August 11th, 2024 at 2:46 pm
Joe … ‘If these worthless preseason games are so vital, how did the Bucs win a Super Bowl without playing one?’
Aw come on Joe, you know that was the first year of Covid and THAT had an impact (NO teams were able to practice for one thing). Bucs had a solid team returning from 2019, THEN we added Brady, Gronk, Fournette, Brown, Wirfs, Winfield & several others.
And it’s not like we blew everyone away that year. We were 7-5 at the 3-quarter mark, then ran the table to gain a WILDCARD SPOT. We went into the playoffs hot, but Lady Luck did smile on us a bit in the playoffs with injuries to several opponents’ key players. 2020 was anything but your ‘standard’ year.
August 11th, 2024 at 3:10 pm
With the carousel of coaches moving around and being promoted each year, I would think preseason games would be just as important for coaches to adjust to in game timing, losing control of the whistle vs a practice/scrimmage, game planning/mhmt vs an unknown, and last but not least CLOCK management (surely Bowles could use the practice). Like I tell my newly minted licensed teen driver…. there’s a big difference between flying down the highway at 80 mph than puttering around the Costco parking lot, you and I both will have to up our game with your 1st merge onto the highway.
August 11th, 2024 at 3:37 pm
What I loved was seeing no loafing. Everyone seemed to be fighting until the whistle. I am so glad we won our first game, whatever you call it. 🙂 Trask seems to be a credible backup QB, too.
August 11th, 2024 at 3:54 pm
Yeah, man. Tucker and Irving looked great. If there’s no hole at least try to make one and keep churning. There was another kid at the end who looked good, but I forget his name. He powered his way in for that last TD.
August 11th, 2024 at 4:06 pm
Tucker didn’t dance around last year, he ran straight ahead at full speed and got 1.6 yards per carry and got himself benched.
White was by far your most effective runner last year because he waited for his blocks to develop.
People that pretend that the above didn’t happen are fake news.
As for last night, a bunch of 3rd and 4th stringers doing anything vs the other teams 3rd and 4th stringers doesn’t mean much. I wish Bowles would have put out his starters for at least a series, like most NFL teams did this weekend, then we’d have a much better idea of what we’re looking at.
In the first series vs their starters, the ball went Bucky’s way 3 times, and it got 4 total yards and a punt. But, again, with the Bucs 2nd teamers vs the Bengals 1st, so you can’t take much from that either.
August 11th, 2024 at 5:02 pm
The blocking on that Bucky TD run was a site for sore eyes. Beautiful. Not a matador to be found.
August 11th, 2024 at 5:59 pm
If preseason is meaningless according to many on this site why then did many QB’s that r starters play when they don’t get paid it’s also like saying playing scrimmages with u r opponents is also worthless WTF r u kidding rookies alone get a taste of the real deal before the season starts all the top tier players started yesterday so I think u r full of sh!t big time know it alls
August 11th, 2024 at 6:00 pm
“Tucker didn’t dance around last year, he ran straight ahead at full speed and got 1.6 yards per carry and got himself benched.“
Note that this average reflects all of the 15 carries Tucker had during the regular season last year lol
Another reminder that Tucker started offseason activities late for the word back on the same medical evaluation that tanked his draft stock and made him available to us.
Kind of hard to give a frig about a 1.6 average on 15 touches from last season when this the kid just ran for 68 yard on 10 touches in his 4th preseason game. We’ll care even less if he does anything close to what he did last night, now why? Because players improve w/o us fans knowing until we can see it.
August 11th, 2024 at 6:04 pm
I don’t know trask #’s were 10 of 18 not that good as far as I see & almost 2 ugly int’s that was a bit nail biting wouldn’t u say he is making millions of dollars I wud expect a few good throws for that much cash I also saw he is not mobile he is pretty stationary
August 11th, 2024 at 6:57 pm
Maybe Todd Bowles is coming into his own as a head coach.
Any kind of practice or preparation is worthwhile I believe.
Go Bucs!!
August 11th, 2024 at 8:35 pm
Trask played well. Every qb has dropped ints. He had a couple bad throws but several very good throws. He should play most of preseason, and then be a good backup.
“Bucks is a natural runner lol ke that,” seems like a big statement.
August 11th, 2024 at 8:36 pm
“Bucky”
August 11th, 2024 at 8:41 pm
How did the TEs block and did that help the running game? Saw Durham was our 4th highest graded PFF and Ko was our 5th.
August 11th, 2024 at 9:12 pm
Bakersbucs – I’ll say it. Trask looked like Mike Glennon out there, only slower afoot and slower to read the field. And Glennon sucked, sucks, and will have sucked.
The interceptions were classic state down the receiver Trask. 7 points. And that’s his ceiling.
The coaches and staff know. The team knows. Most fans with anything more than a brain stem know.
August 11th, 2024 at 9:13 pm
*Stare down
August 11th, 2024 at 9:48 pm
Dave Pear
You better hope Trask is improved because if you think Mayfield is gonna go two years in a row without getting hurt and missing playing time you better think again . I hope not but the odds are rising for him to go down . It’s just a matter of time . At some point this season it’s very likely Trask will have to take the helm .
August 11th, 2024 at 9:54 pm
I’m totally on board with picking up a backup QB who Liam is familiar with and dumping Glennon and Rudy Carpenter.
August 12th, 2024 at 12:53 am
BI = MH2
August 12th, 2024 at 6:15 am
Guessing that once the league goes to 18 games there won’t be preseason games. Coaches will evaluate via training camps with other teams. Open to the public.
Also, glad the kick-off rule is only a pilot. It stinks and will not prevent injuries. They might as well get rid of the kick-off. Maybe that is where they are going.
August 12th, 2024 at 8:27 am
Yes Joe I caught the same comments as youdid and, although I have been critical of Bowles coach speak in the past, I thought he was much like Arians with these forthright comments about dancing in the backfield.
It has been a problem in the run game since Fournette. Who at times tried to channel Barrry Sanders. Arians, in one game yanked him for it. Bowles maybe should have done the same with Rachaad White last year.
It was good to see guys hitting the line hard for a change.
Go Bucs!
August 12th, 2024 at 10:10 am
“Once again, the NFL will survive if not thrive without them. If these worthless preseason games are so vital, how did the Bucs win a Super Bowl without playing one?”
Neither did any other NFL team! It was the covid year.
August 13th, 2024 at 10:36 am
Owners, TV networks and the NFL itself don’t see preseason games as “worthless”. They provide extra revenue for them.
As for “worth” to a team’s construct or performance, there’s something to be said about one preseason game to evaluate players who may be “on the bubble” when it comes to the roster, but pretty much 85% of the roster is set by the time camp is done. And one preseason game, the last one, would be a good “warm up” game for starters and coaches to hone their offenses and defenses. Being scared of preseason injuries shouldn’t preclude having the games. Injuries can happen at any time from OTAs to the post season. Just ask Karen Rodgers who went down on his 4th snap last year.