Todd Bowles: Tom Brady Could Have Made Some Better Throws
November 2nd, 2022
During a June visit to the Ira Kaufman Podcast, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles talked about how his team needs to play better around Tom Brady and how it must stop leaning on his heroics.
“I think if everyone gets to the mindset of, ‘We need to make Tom’s job easier not him make our job easier,’ we’ll be a better team,” Bowles said at the time. “If we don’t have to rely on the heroics, sort of speak, and everybody’s doing their job and earning their keep, we’ll be a better team … There was a few games that we shouldn’t have even been in. If we take care of our business that way, more of a team-like thing, we’ll be a better team.”
That hasn’t worked out.
And Brady isn’t playing at his 2021 standard.
Speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network yesterday, Bowles talked about the Bucs’ all-encompassing offensive breakdown after the first two drives (10 points) against Baltimore on Thursday.
“He could have made some better throws,” Bowles said of Brady. “We could have had some better adjustments down the field and the offensive line could have blocked better. It’s all inclusive as a group and we gotta be clicking for four quarters.”
And don’t forget about the worst rushing attack in more than 50 years.
Bowles, however, liked the effort against the Ravens, even if a lot of fans questioned it. “Big picture takeaways, we played hard. We just didn’t play smart enough,” he said.
Todd Bowles Confidence Poll (Week 9)
Flash Poll posted at 7:32 a.m. Results of last week’s Todd Bowles confidence poll are linked here.
November 2nd, 2022 at 7:27 am
That was playing hard Thursday night? Yikes. Please fire this staff and start anew. We will be the team who keeps him another year and gets the #1 pick in 2024 class and it will be another qb class like Winston and Marriotta. 1 year too late! Just our luck lol.
November 2nd, 2022 at 7:29 am
What a deep, analytical comment. He forgot we could have coached better.
November 2nd, 2022 at 7:32 am
What an asinine statement- they did not play hard in the 2nd half – they played flat, lazy, loafing, missed assignments all over the place, bad tackling
Okay Todd, you are a complete tool
November 2nd, 2022 at 7:42 am
Nothing about BL’s play calling. It looks like Bucs fans are stuck with this stale coaching staff and lackluster team the rest of the season, Galzers & Licht threw their hands up and gave up like the players on this team. No trades, losing mentality. Who does Bowels throw under the bus next the locker room attendant?
#shatshow
November 2nd, 2022 at 7:54 am
Playing dumb isnt playing hard sorry toad bowels
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:01 am
The offense did nothing between the end of the 1st qtr and up until 6:55 mark in the 4th quarter, that’s a lot of time to dig your own grave as a football team. No point production on 5 drives over the span of 2 whole quarters is embarassing. and in that same span of time we didn’t have an offensive drive that lasted >6 plays before punting.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:13 am
And it begins. The blame game. Never liked Belichek but you would never hear him make comments to media about individuals. Just adds to the turmoil.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:15 am
and
TB & BL
Could have made some better calls
The Lost Season
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:22 am
Bowles is drifting toward “moral victory” talk…..not a good sign. Bringing up that you played hard is a weak mentality. These guys are pros, playing hard is expected as a given. This team has taken on the identity of the coaches….passive, delusional, no passion, boring, etc.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:27 am
Playing hard were the teams I watched over the weekend and Thursday there was only one team playing hard and that wasn’t the Bucs.
Dooley, you never saw a game where the inning score was less than 27? How about the D don’t give up 24 points the second half. Keep it under 19 Bucs win. Stupid statement.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:27 am
24 points the D gave up in 2nd half- if that’s playing hard and dumb, the Bucs must be a pretty dumb team.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:34 am
Lol now yall mad 😡 because he told the truth Brady have not been playing good and you know it . This offense haven’t been doing nothing with Brady at quarterback these pass 2 games. The defense held the Panthers 7 points for 3 quarters the offense couldn’t score and Brady had time to throw the ball. Defense held the Steelers to 20 points and offense couldn’t score. The Packers we lost because offense couldn’t score points. It’s a shame that this fan base on here and Joe refuse to hold Brady accountable for nothing lol 🤣. Brady has been missing receivers and throwing the ball to the ground and should have like 7 picks right now. I can’t wait until Brady is gone so it can be about the team again and not just one guy. The only time when y’all look at the team and coaches is when Brady plays bad or we lose . But when Brady plays well and we win it’s all Brady. I don’t hear anything about good play calling or the rest of the team. It’s more Brady/Patriots fans than it is Bucs fans on here!!
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:38 am
Like I have been saying, there is plenty of blame to go around. It is every coach and player on the offense. Brady is not above criticism. If you watch that game, at one point he had about 13 incompletions and 6-7 of them we’re because he made a bad throw
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:47 am
I guess it’s a safe criticism now that it’s past the trade deadline
Gutless wonder.
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:55 am
Say it with me Oneilsuckyall, I HATE the RICH WHITE MAN!!! I know you can do it, it rolls off your lips like hot buttered grits.
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:07 am
Listnfrmafart. I can tell you hate black people because you the only one who say stuff like that. You hate Bowles and BL because their black and that’s why you blame them for the team.
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:26 am
@Listnfrmafar
I’m still trying to figure out how a bell end like you grew hands, eyes, and part of a brain to even be on this site commenting on a sport you clearly are struggling to understand. Expecting a defense to hold onto a 7 point lead with the offense doing nothing to pad it for 30 minutes of game time is a lopsided expectations. I’d expect a Tom Brady stan like yourself to at least try to understand how complimentary ball works, but I guess your too busy wishing to be(with) him lol
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:27 am
Oneilsuckyall, once again you NEVER deny it. Sorry but BA’s want to be acknowledged for accepting diversity killed this team. The HC and OC should be the most qualified no matter what race, gender or preference. Bowles was a losing HC and BA forced him down the Bucs throat. Look at the interim coach for Carolina, I think his name is Sims. He’s black and doing a great job. I also believe that Bowles want to be king of the mountain has neutered Brady’s input on the offense. Once AGAIN,.it was Bowles in a presser that stated CLEARLY this was BL’s O not Brady’s.
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:36 am
Dooley, the offense scored 12 points in the second half the D gave up 24, do the math I you can. I guess 20 minutes + half and a series or two of O starting the 3rd quarter isn’t enough rest? Not to mention TV timeouts and breathers between plays. Ravens ran it down the D’s throat from the Ravens opening series in the 3rd qtr and scored on the next two series following. FYI they didn’t use no huddle. I know it’s hard to comprehend because you probably get exhausted moving a lawn chair but these guys are athletes trained and supposedly conditioned to play a 60 min game. IF THEY ARE NIT, THAT’S ON THE COACGES!!!
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:42 am
Oneilsuckyall, I rebutted your post but apparently Joe likes to protect his binkie BA.
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:44 am
We coulda, we coulda, we coulda — phrases used by LOSERS like Todd Bowels Movement
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:55 am
3.0 ypa
November 2nd, 2022 at 9:59 am
Bobby M – great observations
November 2nd, 2022 at 10:18 am
@Listnfrmafar
LMAO, again our offense shot its’ load in the first 2 drives and punted on 5 consecutive drives between the start of the 2nd qtr to the end of the 3rd qtr. LOL you keep bringing up the what the defense allowed in the 2nd half, but are totally ignoring that 2 quarters(1 half worth of playing time) of inactivity on offense as if that didn’t factor into the loss, because you’re biased and apparently choosing ignorance today. 4 of those 5 drives the Bucs offense stalled out on the score was STILL 10-3, meaning when our defense was protecting a 7 point lead our offense couldn’t do anything to add onto that 10 points until the first drive of the 4th quarter. Again, a bell end attempting to over complicate facts in order to prop up bell end logic
November 2nd, 2022 at 10:28 am
A lot of the pieces are still in place for the Bucs to be successful. They need to start playing as a team.
Speaking offense only: Brady is releasing the ball in 2.25 seconds, and leads the league in this category. That’s not good. It indicates that he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in the O-line. Also, the receivers aren’t separating quickly, which is requisite for a successful result of an early release. Coupled together, these things make the fact that he has thrown 340 times with only one interception, nothing short of remarkable.
That said, it is clear that Brady isn’t the same quarterback this year, anyone can see it. Studies have shown that the single biggest stress that a human being can endure is the death of a spouse. Number two is divorce. His demeanor and gaunt appearance bear out the toll that this has taken on him. Brady is an emotional person; he takes things to heart. It’s probable that the team’s performance, and his own, weigh heavily.
As for the coaching: Over the last two weeks, I watched the Bucs play the Panthers and the Ravens, and also the 49ers/Chiefs and 49ers/Rams games. The contrast in imagination between the Leftwich vs Reid/Shanahan/McVay play calling and play design is stark. If the 80/20 rule applies, Leftwich is in the 80 bunch.
I wanted to be critical of Bowles in NY, but had to pass in the end because the Jets management was such a mess. It’s of course too early to pass judgement on him in Tampa. But in my mind, the HC is a manager. If I were he, I’d sit down with Leftwich and say this: “Byron, I want you to look at the 25 plays that those three guys came up with this year that blew you away. Better yet, here’s the 25 that blew me away. Now choose the ones that apply to our personnel, and put them into this week’s plan. The other DC may have seen them before from those guys, but they damn sure never saw them from us.”
Do that every week. It won’t help the play calling, but by the end of the year we’ll have a hell of a playbook.
November 2nd, 2022 at 11:11 am
Theyre mailing it in because of you Bowles! And now you want to throw Brady under the bus along with some others. Clear signs of failing at leadership!
Start pointing fingers when theyre pointed at you…(slow clap, bravo)
GTFO dude, and take BL with you!!!!!
November 2nd, 2022 at 11:40 am
Worst running attack in 50 years but you bozos thought re-signing Fournette and letting go of Jones were great moves.
November 2nd, 2022 at 11:42 am
Playing hard is winning your battles and beating the guy blocking you. The Bucs havn’t done that so they are not playing hard.
Playing hard is pushing your opponent downfield like the dude from the Ravens did to Devin White.
Playing hard is making tough catches and fighting for extra yards.
This team doesn’t play hard and if Todd Bowles believes that are, then that is the major problem to begin with.
November 2nd, 2022 at 11:48 am
Is Todd’s head finally coming out his Ash?
Where has he been since last Thursday that he is just noticing that Brady is off this season.
That is even scarier than what we have already seen. It gets worse by the week.
November 2nd, 2022 at 12:00 pm
OMG!!! If Bowels liked the effort against the Crows ALL, IS LOST! The playoffs are a pipe dream.
November 2nd, 2022 at 12:10 pm
After Forrest Gump houses a kick to the wrong end zone, Coach Bowles would have said, “Hey, I liked his effort on that run. Good hustle.”
Sheesh.
November 2nd, 2022 at 1:14 pm
Bowles sounds more and more like a politician making excuses. He has no answers and talks in circles. Sadly, we will now be known for wasting Brady’s last year in the NFL. Another great add to the Glazer legacy. I like owners more like Jerry and Irsay who just see it and fix it or at least change the dynamic to fix the problem. These Glazer dudes are just collecting dollars.
November 2nd, 2022 at 1:20 pm
The Ravens offense toyed with the bucs. If Andrews doesn’t get hurt, they probably don’t stop passing and win by 30. Jackson had 7 passes in the second half, and they steamrolled. How is that Tom Brady’s fault? The Ravens had a TOP advantage of nearly a full quarter. Brady wasn’t perfect, but he can’t block and run, and he can’t play defense.
November 2nd, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Dooley, NO team scores every possession. Unless your the Ravens in the second half. The lead was 10-3. Both sides of the ball did their jobs 1st half.
November 2nd, 2022 at 2:21 pm
Brady had plenty of time to throw the ball stop making excuses for Brady play he’s not playing good. Some of yall refuse to hold him accountable for his play so y’all blame the coaches . I’m done talking to y’all about Brady play on the field because it’s useless talking to bias people about Brady because you put on blinders.
November 2nd, 2022 at 2:35 pm
@Listnfrmafar
Nothing I’ve said to you says the offense has to score every possession, but to score 10 points on your first two drives and being unable to score again until the 4th qtr isn’t part of any recipe for success for any offense. The defense did its’ job the first half, even blocked a FG attempt by one of the more clutch kickers the league has seen in year, but the offense did next to nothing for the entirety of the 2nd & 3rd quarters lol that’s not complimentary of a defense that held Baltimore off while our offense pissed away 3 possessions to end the 1st half.
November 2nd, 2022 at 2:47 pm
ew… if you’re Brady and you hear that… when the team can’t run the ball through a paper bag…
November 2nd, 2022 at 3:58 pm
Dooley, gotta ask, did you ever play the game at a higher than HS level? If so DC’s adjust all the time (or are supposed to). Bucs O is SO predictable most DC’s can take the week off. If you cannot run the ball your team is more likely to have more 3 & outs. I was jacked watching the D the first half but the embarrassed themselves in the second. That is not on the O if the D cannot get off the field. Lamar threw only SEVEN passes the entire second half. The O put up 12 points so they actually played better in the second 1/2. The O cannot run and the D cannot stop the run. COACHING!!! Harbaugh played with Bowles in that game.
November 2nd, 2022 at 4:03 pm
I posted a few days ago that the Ravens plan was “genius” and they were just toying with us – – passing in first half (practicing their passing O, to be honest) then pulling out their Ace card in the second half and cramming the pigskin down our collective throats.
Why can’t the Bucs formulate a genius game-plan?
Wait, don’t answer that. Seriously, no answer needed.
November 2nd, 2022 at 4:11 pm
so he defends white–and calls out Brady ??
November 2nd, 2022 at 5:25 pm
No effing spit coach. You clowns could have made better play calls. When the defense knows what routes you’re running it’s kinda tight in there. Also how bout that run defense that Brady’s fault too?
November 2nd, 2022 at 8:00 pm
This game with the Rams is going to be interesting. We’ll see if the players pick.up their game or not.
I’m afraid the only thing to look forward to is Brady hitting the 100,000 yard passing mark which won’t mean a thing to him without a W at the top of the box score.
Going out on a limb: Bucs 24. Rams 13
November 5th, 2022 at 2:30 am
Tom Brady: my ex-horse could have made some better play calls.