The Slow Death Of The Bucs’ Run Defense
October 22nd, 2024
Through the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Todd Bowles’ Buccaneers defense was among the best ever when it came to stopping the run.
Yes, it was that good.
Then the Bucs took a very slight step back in 2021 before looking mortal in 2022, when the Bucs ranked 19th in yards-per-carry allowed and 15th in total rushing yards allowed.
Last year? The Bucs defense rebounded to a No. 8 ranking in yards-per-carry allowed ranked No. 5 in total rushing yards.
But this year, something has gone terribly wrong for a defense that often sells out to stop the run and prides itself on being a run-stuffing unit.
After last night’s debacle, the Bucs now rank 31st in the NFL in yards-per-carry allowed. Through seven games, teams are averaging 5.3 yards per carry against the Bucs
That’s a full 1.5 yards more per rush than opponents registered last season!
Joe will not torture fans here by sharing the Bucs’ ugly numbers against the pass or details of how the Bucs’ red zone defense has gone from special to average.
The Bucs have some strong defensive players, a healthy number of true studs, but the defense is terribly inconsistent and isn’t doing anything at a top-shelf level.
October 22nd, 2024 at 4:57 pm
It seems the only logical explanation is that Bowles is wearing too many hats.
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:02 pm
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but is it time to bring in Devin White to the practice squad?
Our biggest liability is speed up the middle. KJ Britt doesn’t have it and Dennis is out.
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:08 pm
I don’t know, maybe replacing your former ALL-PRO ILB with some scrub who shouldn’t even be on the practice squad wasn’t such a good idea.
But don’t fix the situation, no, just double down on it.
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:08 pm
the schedule?
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:11 pm
The Bucs are soft, the Ravens were much more physical and the Bucs had no answer
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:13 pm
Britt is slow and often out of position. Can’t cover and gets juked on running plays. JTS and Hall are horrible. Weak secondary that can’t cover or even communicate, slow LBs that are easily tricked on weak side runs, and with the exception of Vea, weak Dline. Add Bowles stubbornness to the mix and we have a recipe for a total meltdown.
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:17 pm
Maybe not rotating your starting dline all at the same time could help this isnt hockey Todd you don’t have that kinda depth the drop off is massive.
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:26 pm
As HC, Bowels is garbage!
As DC he has also become trash!!!
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:33 pm
They never replaced Suh & JPP and until they do Bucs DLine play will struggle
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:45 pm
The Bucs has no Run defense, no Pass defense against the better offenses. But they will dominate the weak teams.
And Bucs fans will dancing with joy
Proclaiming them as actual Super Bowl contenders
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:53 pm
So is it HC or not replacing DPlayers ?
I still question why so many coaches were fired but not HC and since not much has changed seems we are getting worse.
Unprepared for games
Lack of physical play
DEFENSE is not what it should be under a coach called a D Guru
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:54 pm
Starting to think the defensive “masterclass” Bowels put on during the Lions gane was a fluke….
The Lions just had a really crappy gameplan that game making Goff dropback a million times….if they ran the ball more they wouldve lit us up.
Todd Bowels, with each passing week your getting closer and closer to Lovie and Mike Smith territory #Hotseat
October 22nd, 2024 at 5:58 pm
How many times was the highest paid safety ever in the nfl on his backside last night
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Look, the Ravens are an elite team. We were simply outmatched last night. I think we would put up a good fight against any other team in the league, even the Chiefs. But right now the Ravens are a tier above everyone else. If he stays healthy, Jackson will be MVP again. It was a terrible blow to lose Chris for the season and Evans for a stretch, but there’s still sufficient talent on this team to make the playoffs. I’m certainly not throwing in the towel. Next Sunday will be a big indication of whether we belong in the playoff conversation.
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:06 pm
Guys, you need to stop being a bunch of dramaqueens. Todd has got this – and its why they’ve made a change at punter.
Better punting = better defense. Everyone knows this. Now calm down and enjoy your Chef Boyardee diner.
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:07 pm
it looked like when we played the eagles early last season on MNF or SNF…i think we lost like 25-11 or something like that…
point i’m getting at is…………….
it looked like a pro team vs. a college team…
same vibe last night after the 1st quarter…pro team vs. college team
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:10 pm
PSL Bob Says:
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Look, the Ravens are an elite team.
———
If you didn’t lose your future 1st ballot HOF WR, and the guy that was leading the NFL in receiving this year, I’d be with you. I said last night during the game people need to stop panicking, the simple truth is that the Ravens are just a much better team.
However losing both your starting WRs, putting your #2 corner on IR, losing your #3 corner, having already lost your #4 corner in game 1…
Injuries matter, you can’t just keep losing guys and say ‘next man up’ – that’s complete nonsense.
The Bucs need to make some moves, ASAP, and stop hoarding draft picks like they’re all future ALL-PROs. The team has to get some help, immediately, or the season is over.
They can start with a free pickup in Devin White. That should have happened already.
Instead they’re cutting the punter, and replacing him with an even worse one.
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:20 pm
It’s apparent that the league has figured Bowles defense out and he is unable to adjust. The Atlanta game, the second quarter of the Saints game versus Spencer Rattler !!!!, and now last night. Enough. He has the rest of the season to figure it out or he will be gone. Stop putting your pass rushers out in pass coverage and start having them rush the passer would be a good start. I have no confidence in Bowles anymore. Baker and Godwin should have been out of that game earlier . Oh , and anytime you want pull your head out of your ass and quit with the interceptions to sway the momentum Baker, I am fine with that too…
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:24 pm
@Rod Devin White will never return to the organization with the current coaches and GM. It’s been reported by multiple people there is a zero percent chance they employ him again. Let it go.
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:29 pm
You know who is responsible for the Bucs linebacker woes? The “friend” who ruined Kendell Beckwiths career.
October 22nd, 2024 at 6:58 pm
Joe … ‘The Bucs have some strong defensive players, a healthy number of true studs, but the defense is terribly inconsistent and isn’t doing anything at a top-shelf level.’
SOME strong defensive players? A healthy number of TRUE STUDS? Seriously Joe? Is ANYONE on this defense playing at an All-Pro level or even close to it?
Bucs had 2 sacks & 2 QB Hits last night (Winfield & Diaby got 1 each). So much for the pass rush. Derrick Henry got 169 yards on 15 carries. So much for the run defense. Lamar Jackson only completed 17 passes, but got 281 yards & 5 TDs passing. So much for pass defense.
It’s ridiculous to compare this defense to the 2020 or 2021 defenses that included TRUE STUDS like Ndamukong Suh and Jason Pierre-Paul. Your photo at the beginning of this piece says it all Joe … looks like 3 midgets trying to tackle a giant. Pretty much how the game went defensively.
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:02 pm
Rod Munch … ‘The team has to get some help, immediately, or the season is over. They can start with a free pickup in Devin White. That should have happened already.’
Nailed it Rod. Kudos. Although if the Bucs do re-sign Devin, the whiney-babies will be all over Bowles for caving in.
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:02 pm
We have invested too much draft capital on defense to be this poor…..Kancey, Braswell, Hall, JTS, Vea
This is unacceptable
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:05 pm
what if:
could the defense just be taking it light because they know we are back to having a potent 30 point per game type offense again…?
just a thought
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:11 pm
Who needs a punter when you have no WRs and a turnover machine at QB?
Wait……..
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:17 pm
Wasn’t the complaint with jets that his defenses regressed after being a head coach? Seems he can’t handle both. As far as run defense I feel we are still fairly stout up the middle with big vea in there, but man our perimeter is being killed… Dean and Davis both did a good job there despite their issues.. lvd is unfortunately slowing.. Britt has his issues… Whitehead it sorta felt like we were playing him in coverage more and unfortunately in the box seems to be only thing he does well… I remember him being good there before he left
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:25 pm
Ravens spent huge $ on Derrick Henry, Kyle Van Noy and Roquan Smith, which is why THEY are where THEY are and us…..meh
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:30 pm
TampaBayBucFan’s point is valid, we have invested a lot of drafts on DLine and Secondary to see wide open windows that any competent QB can play catch with. There is no easier defense to pick on than the Bucs. It’s about time the coaching staff teaches these draft picks how to be aggressive and tackle people. I just can’t get over how poorly these players have become.
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:32 pm
Bowles claim to defensive fame was due to an unbelievably talented roster…..we had dogs across the front with JPP, Vea, Suh, David, White, Barrett. Since losing JPP and Suh, his defense is mediocre. Every player has slowly become less effective…..White went from All Pro to out of the league, Shaq struggled, Davis and Dean are shells of their former selves…..JTs and Hall never developed. It’s like claiming Byron Leftwich was an offensive guru while having Brady, Evans, Godwin, Brown, Gronk, Fournette along with 3 pro bowl linemen. Bowles isn’t good, we have no identity and unless Licht hits the jackpot on DEs in the draft, it’s not going to change.
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:32 pm
8 mil for henry is a steal
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:37 pm
It’s not just the consistent poor HC decisions, it’s that our D is regressing, having the talent .. opposing teams shouldnt have 20 square yards in middle of field to have their way with, shouldn’t lack Edge sacks or Edge Rusher Value conception at the expense of creative blitzes that are getting beat more and more. And now our run game slips, w Vea AND Kancey. Bowles all the way Sus, atleast
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:51 pm
Can anyone say Robert Saleh
October 22nd, 2024 at 7:56 pm
LVD is done, Britt is horrible and makes dumb penalties, Hall and JTS are busts, the DBs are average at best and above all, Bowles isn’t even an average DC anymore. When the defense gives up 27 points in a single qtr, and your special teams suck and your HC doesn’t know how to be a game day coach, this is the result. I’ve watched my last game until Bucs get another HC.
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:06 pm
Defense to me seems to lack depth especially on the d line. There are clearly communication issues on defense too. In every game you see guys trying to figure out who blew what assignment. I am also curious to know how often TB is dropping edge rushers into coverage, it seems like ours spend more time in coverage than rushing the passer.
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:07 pm
Not only does Bowles have an absolutely awful scheme, he seems to be an absentee coach. In his 6 years here, how many times have you seen him actually talk to a player during a game? Rally the troops? Fire them up? Nah, just stand silently in a corner by yourself as if you’re stadium security.
He constantly tells the press after every brutal beatdown that his players need to communicate better, yada yada…but you get the impression he doesn’t actually talk to them directly during the week.
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:09 pm
Camarda waived. Bill promoted. Bucs are making move for someone else on the roster
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:09 pm
Gill
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:12 pm
Two words…
…Missed Tackles
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:18 pm
Players make coaches! Even Bellacheat looked average without talent … put the blame where it lies… poor drafting on the front 7 on the defensive side of the ball
October 22nd, 2024 at 8:52 pm
Beej … ‘Ravens spent huge $ on Derrick Henry, Kyle Van Noy and Roquan Smith, which is why THEY are where THEY are and us…..meh’.
We’re still digging out from under Tom Brady Beej (we’ve got the 4th highest Dead CAP in the NFL). On defense the only big $$$ we’ve spent has been on Winfield ($21 mil/year) & Vea ($17.8 mil/year), and to a lesser degree on Dean ($13 mil/year). The rest of our defenders, even LVD ($8.5 mil/year), are making relatively little compared a number of players on our offense. Interestingly all 3 of those big $$$ guys have missed multiple games this year, and one’s on IR.
This is a decent roster, but it’s nowhere close to a Top-10 defense anymore. Bowles is adjusting all over the place it looks like, but his defense is very complex and requires a lot of experienced talent to make it work. We don’t have that right now on defense. On offense? Yes.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:07 pm
Testing to see if my computer can break through the gremlins.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:12 pm
Britt needs to be replaced. He can’t cover the pass and the run defense looks horrid.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:14 pm
Wow the software is hungry tonight. I give up.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:15 pm
No I don’t I have one more trick. Perhaps the software has been written to refuse longer posts?
So the Bucs have 2 disappointing losses in the past three games. I get the disappointment and griping and all the scapegoating from Bowles to Mayfield. Fans are like that!
But could we take a time out for a reality check?
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:18 pm
Some of this ties to injury and some goes to only having 1 real inside linebacker. I’m sure they’re probably high middle, maybe 20th, but their D looks absolutely porous. They can’t get to the QB without blitzing and in 2019 and 2020 they only needed to bring 4 and the opposing team could hardly block them causing the backside to crash in and make stops. I really wanna know what’s happened to Whitehead. He should be one of the main factors helping with run and pass and really hasn’t been doing anything. Got a lot rough weeks ahead and needs the D only giving up about 14 a game and doing some scoring of their own.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:23 pm
Yet Devin White is persona non grata for the front office & their cozy reporters. It’s gross.
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:25 pm
We have ro thank the stars for the way the first seven weeks of the schedule played out. There is no way we beat Washington or Detroit again and we shouldnt have beaten Detroit as they got in their own way to lose. Sure, we are 4-3 but you change the games a few weeks and we are 2-5. It really doesnt matter because i dont see Bowles gettong out of this death spiral. When we cough up the phlegm over the next three weeks, i think we need to see what we have in Coen. Send Bowles packing or guarding a desk upstairs and let Coen have the last 7 games as an audition
October 22nd, 2024 at 9:46 pm
Fire yourself and bring in another DC, it won’t happen tho….
October 22nd, 2024 at 10:23 pm
Something is off…either Licht can’t GM or Bowles can’t coach. 20-20?
Someone isn’t doing their job.
October 22nd, 2024 at 10:27 pm
Jamin Davis got cut by the Skins. He could be an upgrade over Britt, yesterday
October 22nd, 2024 at 10:45 pm
Reality check: The Bucs were elite and Superbowl ready before Mike and Chris went down. No we were not and we d@mn sure are not now.
Some of us will support our Bucs come he!! or high water, some will not. Yes.
October 22nd, 2024 at 10:53 pm
LVD is slowing down a bit but he is our leading tackler.
Go Bucs!
October 23rd, 2024 at 12:02 am
Guys are always running WIDE OPEN over the middle of the field. Please make it stop and then the soft coverage for quick throws and the worst part is they do it like consecutively and the offense just walks down the field. The defense has gone down the toilet. Which is crazy cause the back end should be stout with Winfield whitehead and Zion has come on nicely a few mistakes last night but he will learn. Should have traded Dean instead of Davis maybe. Then kancey and vea on the middle wrec havoc of course when healthy. We need a defensive draft this year. 2 middle LBs a CB an a dam edge rusher prob gunna have to start looking for veas replacement soon
October 23rd, 2024 at 12:10 am
“True studs”?
True studs don’t give up 51 points, and hamstring a very Offense.
Why is JTS playing? It’s because of where he was drafted, not because of how he plays.
No pass rush. We all knew it last summer.
We play’em because we don’t wanna embarrass the GM.
Then the players will embarrass the Head coach and themselves.
Now we are stuck with a bad defense. An on and off again running game.
And our outstanding passing game just went lame.
It’s gonna be a long season
October 23rd, 2024 at 2:34 am
We’ve got Lavonte and Zyon, that’s it.
Winfield still blows his coverages a couple times a day, and Kancey and Vea are too inconsistent, even though they can be monsters.
Everyone else is just a guy.
October 23rd, 2024 at 4:49 am
Unbelievable … ‘Everyone else is just a guy’.
Pretty much says it all. Baltimore’s offense is elite (#1 for a reason); our defense is not (#28 for a reason). I think the individual defensive snaps on the night vs individual production tells the story of Monday night (and maybe of the season in general).
Group 1: Each got 100% of the 59 def snaps …
o Winfield: 1 sack – 1 QB Hit – 1 TFL – 10 tackles (8 solo)
o McCollum: 1 FR – 5 tackles (4 solo)
o Funderburk: 5 tackles (4 solo)
o LVD: 1 PD – 2 tackles (2 solo)
o Britt: 6 tackles (2 solo)
Group 2: Ranged from 50% – 75% of the 59 def snaps …
o Whitehead (75%): 3 tackles (0 solo)
o Kancey (73%): 1 TFL – 5 tackles (3 solo)
o JTS (66%): 4 tackles (2 solo)
o Vea (64%): 3 tackles (1 solo)
o Nelson (61%): 2 tackles (1 solo)
o Diaby (59%): 1 sack – 1 QB Hit – 2 TFL – 5 tackles (5 solo)
Group 3: Ranged from 1% – 50% of the 59 def snaps …
o Hall (46%): nothing
o Braswell (36%): 1 tackle (1 solo)
o Gaines (34%): 1 TFL – 1 tackle (1 solo)
o Brown (27%): nothing
o T Smith (24%): nothing
o Gholston (19%): nothing
o Izien (17%): 1 tackle (1 solo)
Ravens rolled up 508 yards of total offense … 30 rushes for 244 yards, 22 passes (17 complete) for 281 yards. Yet our Bucs’ defense only got credit for 2 sacks (minus 17 yards), 2 QB Hits & 1 PD. Ravens had SIX explosive plays (over 20 yards each): 2 runs (totaling 120 yards) & 4 passes (totaling 148 yards). Those 6 plays represented over 50% of their total yards in the game. Explosive plays broke our back.
No Bucs’ defenders really stood out in that game. Winfield & Diaby probably came closest, but the consistency on defense didn’t appear to be there. This defensive group can play with the average to below-average offenses, but they can’t run with the big dogs.
October 23rd, 2024 at 5:30 am
Pops Malone … ‘It’s apparent that the league has figured Bowles defense out and he is unable to adjust.’
There’s really not that much to figure out Pops, and Bowles is adjusting all over the place. His MLB is woefully inadequate. How do you ‘adjust’ when the middle of your defense is marginal? He’s playing an undrafted rookie (Funderburk) at starting outside CB (who was on the PS just several weeks ago) in place of Dean; in 2 games he has yet to defend a pass but he has a lot of solo tackles (hmmm). How do you ‘adjust’ from that? He’s starting another rookie (Tykee Smith) at Nickel who’s not really setting the world on fire … yet. Maybe having 2 rookies in our Secondary, along with Winfield who’s only played 2 games, is resulting in some communication issues back there?
And on our defensive front, we’ve got a bunch of inexperience (Kancey, Diaby, Braswell, Greene, Brewer, Brown) & ‘underproducers’ (JTS, Hall), none of whom have screamed ‘I’m elite’ in these first 7 games. And yet, we’re still 4-3. I think we should blame Todd Bowles; that’ll fix the problem.
October 23rd, 2024 at 5:44 am
StPete … ‘Perhaps the software has been written to refuse longer posts?’
If that was the case StPete, I would’ve been permanently banned a long time ago. I’ve got a little over 40 years of computer experience, but still have trouble figuring out the JBF algorithms. For some reason, certain words seem to trigger them (standard), but figuring out what word (or words) that is little more than a guessing game.
Getting put in the ‘cooler’ while JBF moderates your input is really no big deal (well, except that sometimes you have to stay in the dungeon for hours & any input is meaningless after that). No big deal though. It’s a ‘blog’ in my eyes, and the Joes would be crazy to just let anything & everything through.
The ones that baffle me are the ones that literally ‘disappear’ after you hit ‘Submit Comment’. I’ve found that if you hit the ‘Back’ arrow on the browser my submission will reappear. Then I can modify it & submit it again. I’ll usually do that by cutting 1 paragraph then resubmitting, to see if that was the culprit. If it was, piece of cake. If not, try again with another then I give up. Life’s too short (at our age) for games like that.
October 23rd, 2024 at 5:46 am
StPete … Just submitted a comment about your 9:15 PM comment about you having problems with the JBF algorithms, and offered a possible solution. Yup, my comment got sent to the dungeon also. Must’ve bruised its ego.
October 23rd, 2024 at 6:49 am
Back then we had vets and youngbloods. Suh, JPP, lavonte, shaq, gholston, Vea, white, the gravediggers. Arians knew the formula and of course Brady who i think have input on everything. Nobody runs ob the bucs
October 23rd, 2024 at 8:13 am
The whole defense has been in and out of the lineup. Vea, Cancey, Winfield, Tykee, Dean, Hall, Brown, Brewer, Diaby, Dennis, Hayes, and Whitehead have all missed multiple weeks with injury at some point. The teams we have played to this point have very good offenses.
This is still a defense that when they get healthy can be solid enough. All 7 games after the bye are should win games, and the numbers will square up.