Todd Bowles And The Pass Defense
January 31st, 2025
Injury doomed Bucs pass defense?
Joe is beginning to wonder if injuries to Antoine Winfield really started a domino effect that screwed up the Bucs’ pass defense for much of this season.
When Todd Bowles last spoke to the local pen and mic club the day after the wild card round loss to the Commandos, the head coach was asked how much he was able to deploy the defense that he wanted because of all the injuries on defense.
Bowles sort of danced around the question.
In a roundabout way, he admitted his defense(s) were crafted to the available players. Winfield missed eight games and in all but the season opener, Winfield was hobbled to a degree.
“It’s not so much about deploying a defense as it is about executing what we call,” Bowles said. “I thought those guys, for the most part, did a good job of coming in and executing what we called, with what they can do well. That was the defense we were going to play.
“We had a chance to be successful if they executed the defense and they did a good job after the Bye Week of coming in and doing that, so I was proud of them for that.”
In the same presser, Joe asked Bowles if Winfield’s foot, injured late in Week 1 against Washington, messed up his entire season. Bowles wouldn’t answer whether Winfield was ever 100 percent after that injury. When he did play, he was banged up.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Winfield, an All-Pro in 2023, was and is a critical cog to the Bucs defense.
Did Winfield’s early injury indirectly Pearl Harbor the Bucs defense, and was that why the pass defense played like @ss?
(It sure didn’t help when Jordan Whitehead and Jamel Dean and others got hurt as well.)
Ira Talks OC Candidate Nate Scheelhaase, Mike Evans Extension, Fresh Take On Bucs’ 4th-And-3 Decision Vs. Washington, Senior Bowl Names, And Much More
January 31st, 2025 at 7:08 am
I get having.your A+ defense, players and defensive plan. But how better is the capability of a coach on display except when he/she modified the plan to make up for shortcomings? No team keeps every cog on each side of the line all season. They just don’t. So what happens if we lose Lavonte? We’ll, our Defense is crafted around a strong leader at Backer…and our available player isn’t able to do what Lavonte has done? Tough! Winfield down…tough. Yeah, you may be running.your B plan…but your B plan darn well better be good enough to stop the same shallow passing game over the middle we see every week. 4th worst passing D? Come on coach.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:20 am
AWJ went down, Our free agent from the Jets went down, we all know dean is made of glass, and various other injuries sprinkled throughout… Not exactly a recipe for sucess
I do know that Injuries seem to hit this Bowles team pretty hard, so we may need to change practice habits to better prepare the guys
All the being said TRADE THE FARM FOR WILL JOHNSON… A true lock down #1 corner for the next 10+ years outweighs just a good corner and a good edge rusher in the draft
January 31st, 2025 at 7:21 am
Won’t matter who they draft or “if” they do end up signing somebody because if he keeps them in that same D nothing’s probably gonna change. Especially when he’s got the secondary playing 100 yards off of everybody. The offense is gonna have to keep scoring.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:23 am
Wasn’t just Winfield no other ilb dean hurt constantly injury after injury to the defense no help but what we got on the practice squad I honestly don’t see how the defense could have gotten better besides telling the edge rushers to rush only no dropping in coverage
January 31st, 2025 at 7:24 am
The frustrating part is having to wait, but what I like is the answer to whether or not AWJ being banged up all year was the one thing that couldn’t be compensated for is going to be answered for us pretty early in the season.
On one hand I agree you should be able to coach around injuries. On the other, AWJ is an All Pro and not just another guy so the loss is much more impactful.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:25 am
Id trade round 1-3 for Will Johnson and not bat an eye… Get D-line help in free agency… Id rather get a vet whose built for the trenches than a Rookie who needs time to pack on weight and develop
January 31st, 2025 at 7:26 am
@LEWI
I wouldn’t give up that much. Just take Revel. I agree I wouldn’t mind Johnson but they’d probably be just fine with somebody like Revel or Riley or Strong or somebody like that. As long as he gets them to stop playing so far off of everybody because if nothing changes on D the same stuff is probably gonna keep happening. The secondary has to stop playing so far off of everybody.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:31 am
I hope we can repeat with Dean what we did with CD3
January 31st, 2025 at 7:32 am
It doesn’t really matter now. What’s going to be done to fix it does.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:49 am
Problems with this idea that injuries are why our defense sucked:
1) bowles played the soft, crappy zone ALL of last season too. It even started to creep up in Brady’s last year. It’s a scheme he likes, no 2 ways about it. That’s what the evidence shows. He even played it when CD3 & Dean were healthy (both are better in man) and had AWJ behind them. You can’t play tight D if you don’t have a stud at every position? No.
2) The Lions had more injuries, and a much more consequential one (Hutchinson), than we did. Their defense didn’t fall apart. Our defense actually played slightly better at the end of the season when we had MORE injuries (although we were playing worse teams). And look at our offense, a good coach adjusts to injuries and finds a way to succeed. bowles doesn’t.
*) bowles’ defense is SO over complicated that when we do have injuries, guys that have been in the system for years STILL aren’t ready. And let’s not even think about bringing a guy in mid season. Instead we’re stuck with retreads like Whitehead & Edwards. IDK if you want to blame that on the scheme or the coaching, but it’s an under mentioned problem with our D.
January 31st, 2025 at 7:53 am
Does he realize his pass defense has pretty much always been shtty?
January 31st, 2025 at 7:59 am
Yeah the lions defense was crappy with all those injuries.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:03 am
Remember when Godwin got hurt and the offense still worked? Remember when Godwin AND Evans were out and the offense still worked? Remember when the backups on offense were ready to play, in most cases? This is what should be expected of the defense, too, if the SYSTEM is actually decent.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:05 am
More excuses for Todd Bowles defense but nobody needed them when they won week 2 against Detroit lions and we had all the injuries as well as Vea leave that game and Zyon leave with a concussion. Winfield was out with that foot injury and no Kancey so what else ya got Bucs fans
January 31st, 2025 at 8:07 am
Pour all resources into defense, and only take an offensive player in the draft if someone good falls to us. I would only take a WR receiver in the draft if it was too good to pass up. Otherwise all defense. We need more depth at defense.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:08 am
I’ve seen a lot of comments about our DB’s playing too far off the ball – you know, that super soft zone stuff. I have to disagree. The Bucs best safety ALWAYS played at or near the line of scrimmage. His name is Vita Vea.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:08 am
not the middle line backers trying to drop in coverage. Big drop in production once Dennis went on IR
January 31st, 2025 at 8:20 am
Top coaches have the ability to make adjustments. Does the Buc’s D/C have this trait???????
January 31st, 2025 at 8:23 am
Even Licht doesn’t know how the draft is going to play out which always makes it tough to say hey the Bucs need LB’s, Corners, Safety, etc. With any luck the top of the draft will be offensive heavy and we’ll have players drop to us at 19. I’d like to see Bowles have a loaded defensive draft with free agent signings. Then if his D is below average again there is no one to blame.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:26 am
Todd Bowles did hold the Commandos to playoff lows in points, tie with the Eagles 23. Coen on the other hand only scored 20 on team that gave up an average of 40 during the playoffs and one team had five turnovers. So who was the weakest link coaching in that playoff game.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:32 am
A certain site made a great point which I interpreted as an example of stubbornness to change and he’ll always have a horrible pass defense. He keeps drafting tall long corners with long arms when he should be drafting shorter quicker corners who could break on the ball faster.
Nothing wrong with tall corners. It’s almost a silly take. Carlton Davis measured 6-1 at the Combine, same as Dean. Zyon is an elite athlete in all areas. –Joe
The Carlton Davis/jamel Dean type man press corners in a zone based defense makes absolutely no sense neither drafted a pure box safety like a Jordan whitehead in a passing league. Winfield is the prototypical safety we need. Licht is giving Bowles the type of corners Bowles wants and we’re blaming licht for their lack of success
January 31st, 2025 at 8:36 am
Injuries don’t explain the lack of discipline causing so many penalties or the pathetic excuse for tackling by the players who WERE on the field. Todd still refuses to address his own inadequacies. as a coach.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:39 am
Switch to simple cover 2. Bowles schemes will never work. Forget edge rushers and play good DE’s
January 31st, 2025 at 8:40 am
This has been written about at JBF. With a better pass rush the rest of the defense will benefit. Maybe next year YaYa will add more sacks with his gained experience.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:44 am
Keeping Bowles is like hiring a person with no hands to be your chiropractor.
This is madness. Pure of simple.
He’s the Jameis of head coaching.
January 31st, 2025 at 8:51 am
It was a OUTSTANDING job of coaching with all the injuries and lack of talent. Not having a MLB who could reliably drop in coverage… on and on for the rest of the defensive backfield
January 31st, 2025 at 8:57 am
Any update on the OC hire?
January 31st, 2025 at 9:02 am
I just re-watched the first game of the season against the Redskins…
We lost Hall for the season after one half of football. Lost McCollem with a concussion. Then we lost Josh Hayes.
It wasn’t just the injuries to Winfield.
We also lost Dean for a few games and lost Whitehead for the last part of the season as well.
What a mess – no wonder our pass D suffered.
January 31st, 2025 at 9:04 am
When you have injuries, your job is to adjust as needed to still be effective enough to win. I saw that happen with our offense last year, we lost guys and we were still able to be effective. I didn’t see that happen on the defensive side. Is that coaching ? Talent? Both? You are the defensive expert coach. Figure it out because injuries will always figure in to the equation during the season.
January 31st, 2025 at 9:13 am
sblv, if you think that penalties at the worst possible times, pathetic attempts to tackle, and time management problems are a sign of outstanding coaching, then I guess Todd was an outstanding coach. But I see lots of penalties, lousy tackling, serious time management issues, no pressure or hands on opposing quarterbacks, and opposing receivers left wide open in end zones to catch touchdowns passes against us, as coaching issues, not injury issues. Yes injuries were a huge problem, but not the whole problem.
January 31st, 2025 at 9:14 am
To Joe’s point, I agree that AW3 seemed hurt most of the year, but there were other things that impacted his play. Even when AW3 was in the game, Bowles played him very deep in his Charmin scheme and AW3 had to run 20 yards to get to the ball. Even Whitehead seemed deep and rarely made a play on the ball.
Joe has pointed out the Bucs record was better when Dean played. When Dean played, Bowles had confidence in him not to blow a coverage, so Bowles played more aggressively in the backend. That’s why I think we need a CB at pick 19.
Trade Dean for an ILB or picks. Pick up a vet ILB in FA or trade, and draft a second ILB in rd2. In later rounds go best defensive player available.
January 31st, 2025 at 9:31 am
To blame the failure of the defense on injuries is too simplistic. The defense hasn’t been good for three years.
Bowles gets too cute with his coverages (VV dropping?).
Constant complaints about communication tells us that it’s too complicated
The repetitive soft zone and off coverage are continually exploited by opponents.
Yes, there’s been injuries, but the problem is Bowles
January 31st, 2025 at 9:41 am
@ Davenport
I wouldn’t mind the Bucs bringing in another DC to help our head coach out.
However – if you don’t have any CBs who that are healthy who can play man coverage and your pass rushers are lame – what do you do?
Unfortunately the answer is to play zone…
January 31st, 2025 at 9:55 am
Zach Baun free agent Eagles, Dennis should be healthy!!! Lavonte for one more year we should be pretty stout in the middle which is 100% needed if you watched any games this past season, Get it done Jason. Go Bucs!!
January 31st, 2025 at 10:02 am
One thing I really hope the Bucs take a look at this offseason is, their training staff. I know NFL football is a tough and rigorous game but, so many hamstring injuries and darn near everybody on the defense has been out a few games with injuries
January 31st, 2025 at 10:05 am
Davenport
You Bowles haters think that Todd Bowles suddenly forgot how to coach defense….
Do you seriously think this was a good defensive roster, especially towards the end of the year? It was absolutely not.
Give Todd Bowles some more pieces to work with and the defense will be fine.
January 31st, 2025 at 10:10 am
Bucs pass defense
2019-343
2020-327.1 Super Bowl
2021-331.5
2022-324.3
2023-344.2 divisional round
2024-341.8
If these numbers are accurate from this site which sends they are stop talking about drafting better corners every year and realize it’s the scheme and coaches or stop expecting anything different. Apparently despite this defense with a pass rush we can win the Super Bowl or get to the divisional round if Bowles can give up even 50 less per game
January 31st, 2025 at 10:27 am
We’ve seen the same defensive mistakes repeatedly over the last 3 years. To think new players and another year of experience is somehow going to cover up the defensive defencies and The Super Todd’s lousy game day mismanagement is silly. I guess another year of mediocrity will wake people up. But I doubt it.
January 31st, 2025 at 10:53 am
If he demands OUT I’m trying to trade that ‘19th-Pick’ for Sauce Gardner. They’ll try everything they can to keep him, especially with a brand new ‘Defensive-minded’ HC. But, if he DEMANDS OUT… You wouldn’t want a ‘cancer’ inside your locker room as a NEW HC. Especially, when he’s your BEST Player. You could deal with an ‘unhappy’ WR a lot easier (Garrett Wilson also wants OUT). NOT the leader of your Defense tho! If I were THEM… I would trade them BOTH. Load up on picks & tank for MANNING. I’d much rather see the Jets get them than the SAINTS. If Sauce is loud about still wanting OUT on draft day, & that ‘#19-Pick’ is coming up next… I’m pulling the trigger if I am BOTH, the Jets AND the Bucs. I would rather have him (still with 2-years remaining on his ‘rookie’ deal), than anyone else in this draft (at 19), because he is PROVEN. You already know HE IS “HIM.” 💯
January 31st, 2025 at 10:54 am
Maybe Winfield’s just not that good? Doesn’t help that Bowles system is hot garbage. Jags fleeced the Yucs. Thanks Glazer boys!
January 31st, 2025 at 11:07 am
Couch Fan, I believe the last half of this season we were at the top of the league best in points against. And in the second half of those games we were the league’s best. In points against. You know, the only defensive stat that matters. If Baker doesn’t fumble and instead takes 8 minutes off the clock and puts us up by 11 we could certainly be playing next week. It’s a team game folks, and we do need a few more playmakers on defense. But to say that Todd Bowles doesn’t field one of the scrappiest, hustling, balls to the wall defenses in the league shows a level of ignorance that can’t be ignored!
January 31st, 2025 at 11:38 am
This discussion makes me somewhat disgusted. Any defense that takes a huge guy like Vita and have him drop into coverage over the middle is STUPID. Holy sh1t, Vita when playing “normal” he has to come off the field for a blow every couple of plays. So drop him into coverage!! Why didn’t I think of that? Any body remember when Vita, in the whole season, made a tackle while dropping back? I don’t think so. WE ALL KNOW THE PROBLEM- -Ultra Charmin coverage and little pressure. Anybody drafted as a DB must be able to play man-to-man. Watching the rest of the playoffs, it’s a revelation when you see the corners in tight coverage. Again, who cares who we draft, any corner drafted will disappear into the maw of Bowles’ defensive scheme.
January 31st, 2025 at 12:10 pm
I need an explanation for how a defense can absolutely suck in the 1st half of every game, and then suddenly become a steel wall in the 2nd half.
The only explanation is that they went into every game without a serious game plan and then created a 2nd half game plan on the fly during the 1st half. How else do you explain it? I understand injuries play a huge effect, but those same 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string players somehow played 180° different ball games from one half to the other on an almost weekly basis. Bravo, for being able to do that, it won us games, but why wasn’t there more weekly prep to start every game?
The 3rd down pass defense is a massive problem and so is the 2 minute defense. Maybe I’m forgetting a game, but a can’t really recall a game recently where the defense had a chance to close out a one score win and actually got a stop on downs or forced an interception. A minute and a little change is all it takes for pretty much any NFL offense to march 70 yards on a Todd Bowles pass defense and score at the end of a half.
January 31st, 2025 at 12:13 pm
BucsfaninOregon, you must have missed the Cowboys game. Vea patrolling across the middle put a smackdown on the Cowboys tight end that I can still feel! And if White hadn’t turned around fumbled it we’d have probably won the game. I’m done trying to figure out Bowles defensive schemes but I have to admit he makes the most of what he’s got to work with.
January 31st, 2025 at 12:27 pm
Bowles Cover None defense is a calamity.
January 31st, 2025 at 12:29 pm
Just finished watching Vea’s hit on Ferguson for the Cowboys. Collingsworth was announcing and said look at Vea reading Rushes eyes, then Oh My God he almost killed him! If we’d have won the dang game I’d call that the defensive play of the year. Collingsworth said he’d never seen anything like it and I haven’t either.
January 31st, 2025 at 1:11 pm
The ONLY reason for the 2nd half of the season was THE SCHEDULE. Period. Plain. AND. Simple. I said it all along… “All Smoke & Mirrors.” Just take a look at the QB’s we faced… Someone named “Aiden.” Ridder. Locke. DeVito. Rattler. Bryce Young & an awful Carolina team, TWICE. Got ‘lit-up’ by a “Cooper” & a terrible Cowboys team, that had only ONE ‘real’ offensive threat. Herbert was the only one, & that Chargers Offense (one of THE WORST in the league all season) was HORRIBLE, & completely depleted by the time we played them. So, there’s your explanation. It matters who you play and when you play them.
January 31st, 2025 at 2:42 pm
@LEWI
All the being said TRADE THE FARM FOR WILL JOHNSON… A true lock down #1 corner for the next 10+ years outweighs just a good corner and a good edge rusher in the draft”
I confess I do not follow the college game. I wait for you guys to come up with suggestions. LEWI your’s is excellent! Will he drop far enough? I looked up a couple of mocks and he was 11th in one of them, that is worthless IMHO since they had the Bucs pick and OSU WR @19 saying he has the “potential” to be a WR1 or WR2. With all of the obvious needs why would the Bucs waste a pick on any WR that isn’t projected as a “generational player”? I thought Bucky Brooks was supposed to have credibility but that has to be the most ignorant mock!
CBS has the Bucs picking Jihaad Campbell the ‘Bama ILB jjoe profiled earlier this week. That makes PERFECT sense as it actually fills a Buc need!
In that same mock they have Johnson going 14th. They said he had a Patrick Surtain look to him before his foot injury. But assuming he’s healthy he’d be a great pick as well. Perhaps JL has them both high and will grab either if one of them is available.
January 31st, 2025 at 2:44 pm
Why couldn’t we coach them up??? Are these defensive coaches still here??? Retire for Pete’s sake. Find another job perhaps as a Janitor