Gronk Says Todd Bowles “Will Knock Some Sense Into You”
April 6th, 2025
Rob Gronkowski checks in.
Lots of Bucs fans think Todd Bowles is a soft coach with soft practices and a soft pass defense and a soft demeanor that reveals a lack of toughness.
Joe heard another chorus of this when Bowles announced last week that the “killer instinct” within his team is lacking.
Joe can’t buy into all the Bowles softness talk. His Bucs teams are ready for Week 1 and have a 3-0 record on opening days against quality clubs. That’s no coincidence. Bowles knows how to prepare a team for a season.
And Joe thinks the Bucs are a physical team in the trenches, above average in that important facet of the game. Yes, there is room for improvement.
As for Todd Bowles’ demeanor, media is not permitted to watch in-season practices. There’s little insight available into what happens behind the scenes, and Joe cares nothing about how a coach behaves on gameday sidelines. Screaming and facial expressions make for great TV and social media clips, but they have little to do with winning.
So Joe always is interested in nuggets, however small, into how Bowles is perceived by his team.
Future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski got to observe Bowles for the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a Tampa Bay tight end. Plus, Gronk maintains relationships with current Bucs.
Speaking on his Dudes On Dudes podcast last week, Gronk was comparing tough coaches and weaker coaches and said of Bowles, “He’ll knock you out. He’ll knock some sense into you if he needs to. No doubt about that.”
Bowles was asked to describe himself as a coach last week. He said he’s calm on the field but talks plenty of sh** off the field “and a lot of times on the field that you [media] guys don’t get to see. Trust me, I’m probably very talkative.”
Bowles added that players need to be approached in different ways but they all hear from him.
April 6th, 2025 at 9:35 am
There are too many instances of where the players all appreciate Bowles.
He has his warts — but to those that act on this site like he does not know what he is doing — They are clearly wrong.
Dude was one of the 1st coaches ever to stop Mahomes.
April 6th, 2025 at 9:58 am
Clearly, a LOT of folks here don’t have much respect for him, but I’ve never heard such from any of his players
April 6th, 2025 at 10:05 am
The Bucs defense has been horrible the last two seasons. It’s natural to blame the coach. It looks to me like last year there were too many holes in this defense which I attribute to the players and injuries. This year with 4-5 new defensive starters from the Washington game will better judge TB. More players need to move on starting with Jamel Dean. More EDGE help, LB and SAFETY essential along with fully recovered Sirvocea Dennis and Winfield Jr. Also, it is time to move to 4-3 front. Having a Emmanwori as 1st pick, makes this more likely.
April 6th, 2025 at 10:16 am
There is only ONE REASON to hate a coach that has been so good and I think we all know what it is……
April 6th, 2025 at 10:37 am
I just don’t like certain aspects of his defensive scheme/playcalling, and some of his game/time management decisions.
Other than that, he’s a good coach.
(But those couple things that he kinda sucks at are very important)
One has been addressed, the time management.
Let’s see if his semi-crappy defense improves this year…
April 6th, 2025 at 11:00 am
I’ve never seen him light up a player, or the defense as a whole for under performing. I’ve seen to many teams converting to many 3rd downs with no apparent hands on coaching by this guy. We don’t have a D.C. who circles the troops on the sidelines. So he can say he talks, I’ve just never seen it.
April 6th, 2025 at 11:01 am
Bingo Todd!
April 6th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Bowles has the HR part of the job down pat. Maybe the best in the business at it. And now he’s addressed his game decision hole by hiring an expert, hopefully Todd listens to him. Todd knows he needs to score points. With a pass defense as soft and porous as his, that’s a good thing.
So what’s left?
Todd needs to lean on his Defensive Coordinator and give him the treatment Gronk is talking about. Of course, he’d be beating on himself, so…………….
April 6th, 2025 at 11:17 am
When Evans, Godwin, Brady, and others chose to play here for less than their true market value, that’s telling.
Bowles already played a key role in the Bucs winning a SuperBowl. Holding Mahomes to ZERO TDs was one of the greatest defensive performances in a Superbowl in recent history.
The Bucs weren’t great the past couple seasons but how many teams ARE when digging themselves out of salary cap hell?
April 6th, 2025 at 11:25 am
He is our coach support him or leave the squad
April 6th, 2025 at 11:51 am
Joes logic is very flawed yet again.
Celebrating a 3-0 game one start to his three seasons as HC is like me celebrating a strike in the first frame of bowling and declaring it an automatic 300.
Winning on opening days (twice by large margins and once on the road) shows the team was handled well in training camp from a prep, readiness and fitness standpoint (to a degree on the latter). That’s not flawed logic. That’s just reality. It’s also not something for which to have a parade for Bowles. But every coach doesn’t that track record. –Joe
Keeping it to a bowling analogy, he’s good the first three frames, throws splits and misses easy spares the middle three frames, good the next three frames on easy spares, but always opens in the tenth frame thus destroying his overall score.
In a men’s bowling league Bowles would be the guy everyone enjoys drinking beer with, but when it’s crunch time and the team needs him to bear down and score, he fails and brings the team down with him.
He’s the type of bowler that only beats you because of his high handicap and every once in a while throws a big game. But in a straight up scratch game he has no chance of victory.
28-27
April 6th, 2025 at 12:31 pm
Joe, that is all you have is game one to hang on Bowles hat?
What about the last games of those three seasons?
You know, the epic failures where we we un prepared and looked like a high school all girls powder puff squad!
Only when the Eagles were floundering and without their top weapons did we beat them at home in the postseason under Bowles.
He’s only good against inferior teams. In prime time he’s absolutely a dumpster fire as a HC.
Keep arguing for your limitations and that’s what you’ll be left with. Just like you did with Americas turnover machine, Jamies Winston.
Joe argued very little in this post. This wasn’t some sort of Todd Bowles opus. You’re carrying a lot of baggage into this. –Joe
April 6th, 2025 at 12:45 pm
BucDawg with the gutter ball of the day! BucHawk $h!t in his nest!!!
April 6th, 2025 at 1:32 pm
I’ve been a fan of this team since 1976, but the Chiefs were missing both of their starting OTs, and the Bucs feasted. Their backup tackles were pathetic. I believe we could have won that game anyway. Our Defense was outstanding, but we never could have held Mahomes without a single TD if his starting OL was intact.
April 6th, 2025 at 1:50 pm
@ 1sparkybuc: maybe so, coincidentally I watched S.B.55 last night and the push up the middle was even more impressive than the edge pressure.
April 6th, 2025 at 2:11 pm
Not positive what@ east flat bush buc and @ todd are reluctant to articulate what THEY feel is the ONLY reason that fans criticize TB. A coach whose career record is 53-65 but has been a few games over 500 with our beloved Bucs. TB is the most successful coach in the worst division in all of football and is favored to win the division for 5 th straight year. But to infer that Todd is a above any critique and those who do feel the need to point out his shortcomings are do so to satisfy an ignorant need is indeed quite a mental gymnastics routine. Bowles will never get fired by the Glazers, he will go out whenever he wants. My thoughts from what I have observed as a bucs fan since 1976 is that the bucs will be a 9-10 win team and never win a Super Bowl with Bowles as their coach. This conclusion was arrived from watching Bowles in NY and here and seeing how he consistently deals with time management/play calling/in game decisions as a HC week in and week out. Looking forward to Todd and East Flat bush articulating the reason they feel that fans dare to point out issues with HC Tood.
April 6th, 2025 at 2:58 pm
Oh Gronk… from Tide Pods commercials to Dudes on Dudes podcasts… Bellicheat was right.. Gronk, you don’t have to say YES to everything that comes your way.
LOL
April 6th, 2025 at 3:57 pm
Todd has admitted he could be better in areas.
We’ve hired a “game manager”… He’s shuffled some of his coaches around is putting more coordinator responsibilities on his staff instead of trying to do it all himself. Some of y’all have called for this but refuse to acknowledge it or give him any credit at all.
He has obviously identified where we need to improve and I, for one, trust that he has a better plan than the turd brigade members lurking here – just waiting to post he sucks (or some variation of he sucks) on every article.
Same shlt, different day 🙄
April 6th, 2025 at 5:15 pm
Dirk Koetter was 3-0 in season openers also.
April 6th, 2025 at 6:08 pm
I just Bowles was tougher on the refs during the game on the sidelines ala BA. I think that makes the refs think twice before throwing a hankie on an obscure call. I give the refs in my flag football more trash than Bowles does to
April 6th, 2025 at 6:09 pm
I just Bowles was tougher on the refs during the game on the sidelines ala BA. I think that makes the refs think twice before throwing a hankie on an obscure call. I give the refs in my flag football more trash than Bowles does to NFL refs.
April 6th, 2025 at 8:16 pm
I wish he were better at end of game and that he played backups more when starters are healthy but other than that i love the guy. Everyone who knows him seems to, as well.
April 6th, 2025 at 8:25 pm
I do like Bowles aggressive defensive nature. That dude blitzes a bunch and I’ve always said a qb never completed a pass laying on his back. Give Bowles Trey Hendrickson and Katie bar them doors.
April 6th, 2025 at 10:54 pm
Aqualung… interesting. Didn’t know that. And well timed here.
April 7th, 2025 at 12:16 am
One ring changes everything for Todd.
April 7th, 2025 at 6:33 am
maybe gronk wants to come back !
April 7th, 2025 at 7:25 am
Love Gronk and fully respect Coach Bowles. I am glad he has intensity off the field. We don’t have to see over-drama from a coach on the field. It always takes away from the game and becomes the main focus. Todd does it in private, the way it should be. One of the many reasons he has the locker room.
April 7th, 2025 at 8:22 am
“Not positive what@ east flat bush buc and @ todd are reluctant to articulate what THEY feel is the ONLY reason that fans criticize TB.”
“There is only ONE REASON to hate a coach that has been so good and I think we all know what it is……“
Todd was referencing hate, not criticism. To criticize TB is completely acceptable… to hate him is another thing. Even though his NFL peers respect him, and even if he won a SB, some here would still blabber hate about TB being a DEI hire.
April 7th, 2025 at 8:24 am
What’s the one reason this Todd guy is talking about? Enlighten us.