“Killer Instinct” Must Be Enhanced
April 1st, 2025
Remember three months ago when the Bucs had a must-win game to clinch the NFC South title and trailed the slimy Saints 19-13 in the fourth quarter — at The Licht House?
It was horrifying and unsettling.
The sinking Falcons were one game behind the Bucs but Atlanta would have won the division if the Bucs lost to the tanking Saints and Atlanta took out the Panthers. (The Falcons lost 44-38 in overtime.)
The Bucs came storming back to win going away, but it was yet another 2024 season example of the Bucs lacking mentally.
Todd Bowles went there this morning during a sitdown with Joe and other media at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach.
“We gotta have a killer instinct and we got to try to blow people out and try to win the division instead of it going to the last week,” Bowles said.
Amen.
Joe followed and asked Bowles how he can develop a “killer instinct” in a veteran team. Bowles said it can’t come from him.
“It’s more accountability and practice and competing against each other,” Bowles began. “It’s not a coach thing.”
“They can hear me talk every day, all day up there on the stage, but when they start talking to each other and holding each other accountable from a vocal standpoint, whether that’s tough love or whether that’s kind love, either way, it gets across. And how we get our point across and how we approach games is important. You develop that through the spring and the summer from a chemistry standpoint — to making sure you’re getting your point across to having [more competition] in training camp or doing little things like that to help [players] along.”
While killer instinct may not be “a coach thing,” as Bowles said, meaning he can’t talk that into existence, Joe believes a killer instinct is a personnel thing.
So rest assured “killer instinct” moved up higher this season on the Bucs’ list of priorities in potential draft picks.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:24 am
I’m a critic but I’m rooting for Bowles to succeed. His success is our success. However we had way too many games the last 2 yrs where this team had no fire whatsoever. I don’t care who it comes from just be ready for every game.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:39 am
Players must hold each other accountable, but the head coach has to also. Players can’t bench each other for poor performance, and poor effort only the H.C. can. Carlton Davis recently came out and said he often didn’t give his all in practice, and never studied the small details like he should of. I’m sorry, that’s on the coaches. The way to get a player to comply is by putting their job on the line. That don’t work, cut them, and send the message. We saw Whitehead loaf, we saw White do that in the past. What did Bowles do? He allowed White to keep the C on his jersey, finally he was benched. Not saying coaches need to be screamers, but have you ever, ever seen Bowles light up a player, or his whole underperforming defense on the sideline? Me neither. If you stand there on the sideline arms folded stareing into space like you don’t care, your players won’t care either. Bowles needs to look in the mirror, take responsibility. Don’t just say it’s up to the players, it’s more your job then theirs.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:43 am
Yea like the coaching staff has nothing to do with calling plays to determine the direction of the game. What typical Bowles pass the buck garbage.
April 1st, 2025 at 11:56 am
The offense has so many weapons along with speed. They must become unpredictable at the line of scrimmage. You have to cast just a sliver of doubt in the opposing defense, then use it to your advantage
April 1st, 2025 at 11:58 am
It is a coach thing!
A killer instinct means going for it on 4th down, going for 2 pts, calling play action to Mike when team is expecting run to drain the clock!
It’s throwing a Hail Mary before the half cause you might get a FG chance outta it. It’s trusting your offense Todd! So they trust themselves. If they screw up then the D gets their shot to win the game.
This isn’t that hard. Coach to win!
April 1st, 2025 at 12:23 pm
You can tell from the comments who has played the game before and who has always been a spectator… I agree with coach, you can’t teach a killer instinct! As a player you either have that fire in you or you don’t . Michael Jordan never had to be coached to develop that killer instinct, Kobe didn’t earn the Black Mamba moniker because he had to coached to have that mentality… Bowles can only put you in a position to allow that instinct to take over in game time moments, but if its not in you then he can scream at the top of his lungs until the end of time but will never pull out of you what was never in you in the first place…
April 1st, 2025 at 12:38 pm
Bowles has zero killer instinct …..so it’s hard for players to take a lead from him.
Milk & Chips Ahoy….that’s Todd.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:39 pm
Bowles has zero killer instinct …..so it’s hard for players to take a lead from him.
Milk & Chips Ahoy….that’s Todd.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:48 pm
I can’t believe he said that.
Just when I was starting to regather faith in Bowles with a revamped lineup and a clock management coach, he says something dumb like this.
Find your killer instinct Todd before you waste a high end roster.
April 1st, 2025 at 12:49 pm
bowles is right…killer instinct is a player thing….
being aggressive is a coaches thing…
love todd, but he has to be more aggressive….3pts wont beat good team…gotta have 7…no more kicking FGs in the redzone…if we’re in the red zone, we must get 7
GO BUCS!!!!!
April 1st, 2025 at 12:55 pm
Bowles himself lacks a killer instinct. He’s far too conservative.
April 1st, 2025 at 1:07 pm
Maybe run training camp different than Camp Cupcake.maybe go back to three practice fields so everyone can be working all the time. Bowles is the master of deflection -“It’s not a coach thing.”
Bullsp!t. A team emulates the personality of its head coach. C’mon, Todd. What are YOU going to do differently to develop your own killer instinct and translate that to your players, instead of playing coward ball?
April 1st, 2025 at 1:34 pm
Bowels is right, the player has to have the fire or he doesn’t. Loubucs cited Jordon, Kobe, and he’s right. Brady had that fire Sapp, Lynch, Brooks all had it, if you’ve never played you wouldn’t understand it but it has to come from the players, coach’s jobs are to put them in position to win. It’s that simple. I’ve listened to Bowels talk to the team and he treats them honestly and like grown men, as they say they want. There is a difference between a coach being practical in a game situation vs foolish and hindsight is always 20/20.
April 1st, 2025 at 1:38 pm
Hodad,
You make some good points. I just don’t think threatening todays players with their job is the same as it used to be .. too much guaranteed money and/or money in general. I mean Davis and Dean got their deals and then playing didn’t seem to matter much to them.. OTOH Baker fights tooth and nail to keep Trask out of the game.😉
As far as killer instinct, sure would like DBs to play press man instead of being scared of getting beat deep. After all getting beat deep or letting a team get 12 yard chunks until they score is the same thing. It’s actually worse as it takes clock time from your offense. I guess I just miss defense in general in todays NFL.
Todd just isn’t the killer type… yet.
April 1st, 2025 at 2:03 pm
Glad to see so many comments acknowledging the obvious: the HC can absolutely help drive the mentality by keeping the offense on field when you’re fourth and short and on the plus side of the field. For a while I thought he lacked basic math skills (3 points vs 7 and having more offensive possession) but came to remember he’s an old school defensive coach….so that mindset aligns with his football upbringing.
Hopefully this researcher will help him in that area
I’d also like to see him allow his defense to play closer to the LOS.
April 1st, 2025 at 2:18 pm
We need more killers on defense to have a killer instinct.
Kancey is like Sapp. A Wild man who talks trash and hates losing.
Izien is a freaking thumper. He gets low and he crushes people.
Tykes Smith is a dawg. He hates losing. He makes big plays and puts his head down and gets back to work.
Zion is a freak.
We need to draft some hard hitters.
Hall needs to be 2nd string.
We gotta draft his competition at #19
April 1st, 2025 at 3:02 pm
Loubucsfan…
Bowles can only put you in a position to allow that instinct to take over
That’s exactly what I mean, down and distance, time of game, Bowles needs to put these guys in position to finish people.
April 1st, 2025 at 4:55 pm
“It’s not a coach thing.”
Spoken like a real loser.
It ain’t my fault guys!!!
Hahahahahahahaha
28-27
April 1st, 2025 at 5:20 pm
You have to be careful. It’s a fine line. Remember Greg “Toes on the Line!” Schiano?
April 1st, 2025 at 7:20 pm
A killer instinct would be your defense making a huge 4th quarter goal line stand in a playoff game, and giving the ball back to the offense who has a chance to go up 2 scores and put the game away.
Instead Baker fumbles the ball, the 2nd playoff game in a row where, in the 4th quarter and the game on the line, he turned the ball over.
No killer instinct there, unless the idea is to kill the Bucs.
April 2nd, 2025 at 12:09 pm
Killer instinct is difficult to define and quantify and is nigh impossible to teach. Bowles is mostly right but as stated above in some comments, a portion of it is his responsibility, specifically, he needs to stop hugging his nuts by playing soft prevent defense late in games.
There are a lot of sound perspectives in the comments but the most salient words on what specifically can be done to remedy this obvious problem is as Joe said in the last paragraph of this article- draft the natural born killers available and let guys like JTS walk. My favorite thing about this draft’s crop of corners is how many of them play bigger than their britches, strike downhill with menace and throw fits when their team gives up gimmie completions at any point in the game regardless of what the scoreboard says. We call them tone-setters. They come in many forms: Goedeke with his mouth and the play to back it up, Winfield Jr.’s refusals to let the ball break the plane of the end zone, Mayfield’s ability to find the sticks on third down whether it’s with his feet or the help of Godwin or White…
The Bucs ought to draft guys like Malaki Sharks, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Landon Jackson, Nohl Williams, Teddy Buchanan and others who have not just the fury but the focus to temper it into a weapon that not just defeats but devastates opponents and can displace the Deans, Braswells and other JTS type players on the roster who are being tolerated until they can be replaced.
The Bucs’ coaching staff is doing a commendable job recognizing and acknowledging the shortcomings and problems they have. That is step one. Now go get the remedies.