Is Bowles Wrong For Putting Bucs’ Finish On The Players?

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles didn’t mince any phrases after a 35-7 loss at San Francisco final Sunday. With 4 video games left within the 2022 common season, he’s placing the result on his gamers.

“We now have to resolve what group we need to be,” Bowles stated following the loss. “We are able to’t be one set of Bucs and one other set of Bucs. It’s obtained to imply one thing. We’ve obtained a one-game lead – with 4 video games to go. Both we would like it or we don’t. You may’t care greater than all people else. As a coach you don’t go on the sector.

“However we obtained out-coached, so we’re not excused from this in any respect. We obtained out-played as nicely. In order a group, as a bunch, we’ve got to buckle down and we’ve got resolve what our destiny is within the subsequent couple of weeks.”

Bowles didn’t excuse himself or his coaches from any accountability or blame for Sunday’s debacle in San Fran or within the group’s disappointing 6-7 season. However he put the onus on turning issues round on the gamers – lots of which, together with the group’s stars – have underperformed this season.

Is that the precise strategy? Is that displaying sufficient management – telling the gamers what have to be carried out?

Or is that this an old-school strategy that doesn’t attain a youthful, maybe extra entitled technology that wants extra coddling somewhat than a extra autonomous, hands-off strategy?

Does this Bucs group, which is a mixture of a whole lot of actually younger gamers and some older gamers, want extra management from Bowles and the coaches?

Bucs QB Brady, DC Foote Agree With Bowles’ Method

Quarterback Tom Brady, who’s the league’s oldest participant at age 45, appreciates Bowles’ strategy.

“He’s actually allowed the leaders, the gamers to say… the coaches [say], ‘Guys, you’ve obtained to go on the market and do it,” Brady stated. “We’re going to educate you up, however you gamers have gotten to go get it carried out. In order that’s what we’re making an attempt [to do.]”

Co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Larry Foote, who performed with Brady at Michigan and is 42, agrees with Bowles’ strategy. Foote performed linebacker within the NFL for 13 seasons.

“I all the time see the sport as, ‘It is a participant’s league,’ even on this aspect of teaching,” Foote stated. “However this can be a participant’s league – coaches do have a task in it, however gamers must make performs. They’ve obtained to return with a sure perspective, and so they’ve obtained to stay collectively. However they’ve obtained to carry out.

“There’s performs on the market that must be made, and we anticipate these guys to make it. Coaches must do a greater job of placing guys in the precise place, hold these guys motivated, however I’m all the time going to see the sport from a participant’s perspective.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles & Co-DC Larry Foote – Photograph by: Cliff Welch/PR

So are the 6-7 Buccaneers not responding to Bowles’ teaching strategies? Or are they only letting one another – and the coaches – down by simply not making sufficient performs this 12 months?

Bowles and the Bucs’ coaches have to educate higher – definitely higher than they did final week in a complete group collapse in San Francisco. However the gamers should block and deal with, and catch the landing passes and make the interceptions on the sector.

Bowles and his coaches can’t try this for them from the sidelines.

“Resolve who we need to be,” Bowles stated after the loss to the 49ers. “We are able to’t be an up and down group. We now have 4 weeks left to search out out who we need to be this season and attain our aim.”

Even at 6-7 the Bucs nonetheless lead the NFC South division and management their very own playoff future.

“Day-after-day you’re challenged on this sport,” Brady stated. “You stand up on daily basis and your physique feels a sure manner, and your thoughts and your confidence. Now you’ve obtained to go coordinate that with everybody else’s physique and confidence and perspective. You’re making an attempt to string collectively particular groups, offense, protection – there’s rather a lot to do. And it’s actually rewarding when it pays off. And when it doesn’t repay, it sucks. It’s like all of our jobs: When it doesn’t go the best way you need, it sucks.

“We’ve obtained to face up right here and reply questions on why it’s not going nice. Consider me, you want it was going nice each week however that’s not our actuality and we’ve obtained to dig our manner out of it. Nobody’s feeling sorry for us, nobody exterior the locker room can do a lot about it. We’ve obtained to return collectively and we’ve obtained to do it ourselves. I feel I actually respect what Todd is doing. He’s placing it on us to repair it, and that’s what our accountability is to do.”