The NFL has crazy swings in performance that leads to weird outcomes. Some of that is the circumstances when the game is played and some of it is just the ay the game plays out.
The Bucs and the Broncos just played the MIGHTY Chargers and this is how the defensive performances compared:
The Bucs D held the Chargers to 32 yards running. The Broncos defense gave up 117 yds rushing.
The Bucs D held the Chargers to 0-6 on 3rd down conversions. The Broncos D let the Chargers convert 50% (6 -12).
The Bucs D had 3 sacks. Broncos D has 2 sacks.
The Broncos D generated 1 turnover, the Bucs D generated 2 turnovers.
The Bucs D gave up 4.3 yard per play, the Broncos D gave up 6.2.
The Bucs D gave up 195 passing yds to Herbert. The. Broncos D gave up 284
(Kudos to the chargers for turning it around like that on a short week and against a very good defense)
Herbert looked healthier last night, seemed to be more mobile than during the Bucs game.
The Chargers rushing offense is also a bit stymied by the absence of JK Dobbins (DNP in both games).
Herbert looked healthier last night, seemed to be more mobile than during the Bucs game.
Yeah.
He definitely looked more fluid and was stepping into his throws.
That being said, you gotta give kudos to Sean Payton.
Has him team in a position to make the playoffs with $90M in dead cap and with a rookie QB.
Thats a good HC.
Agree that Sean Peyton is a tried & true offensive genius, and interestingly, he’s tied to a DC in Vance Joseph with similar defensive scheme to Todd Bowles: Heavy pressure packages, lots of zone tendencies, lean heavily on DB’s and have shown an ability to adapt.
Could just be a spurious observation
Sometimes good defenses have an off night.
Sometimes bad defenses have a good night.
While that is true - it could just be some defenses have the talent they need to make the scheme pop, and some just need better/available talent for multiple games.
Schemes look to be effective.
Sometimes good defenses have an off night.
Sometimes bad defenses have a good night.
for sure
One of the reason our defense did so well against the Chargers is that the offense came in late and took over the game a bit. I think we had the ball almost 9 minutes in the 3rd quarter and 9 minutes in the 4th. The advantages of having a running game. Now, the D also created two turnovers and held on a 4th down, so there is that too.
COMPLEMENTARY football at its finest. Old school
After the bye, the defense has given up 7, 23, 13 and 17
Another tough one coming up
Schemes look to be effective.
yes and if one is not intermittently allergic to Quepo or Ledyard you might hear them talk about how Bowles adjusted his scheme to stop the Chargers running game, for example! 32 yards versus the Broncos giving up 120
Oh wait . . .
you can read it too . . . its right here on PR
https://www.pewterreport.com/bucs-defensive-answer-chargers-heavy-package/
Look at that!
Right but let's get real... Chargers game they played solid in the second half vs Herbert on one leg.
Raiders sucks. Giants suck. Carolina is playing a little better but still sucks and we should have lost.
Cowboys suck. Saints suck. Carolina still sucks.
It's hard to perfectly judge Bowles because we ran a gauntlet to start and now we're playing cupcake...
But I think a perfect barometer for his shitty defense is the Falcons... And some of the other games where the offense did enough to win.
Having said that, key players are missing AND highly paid Winfield has played poorly AND been hurt.
We’re catching teams that have also been hit by attrition. The health aspect is playing out pretty well. I also remember that a few of the gauntlet teams were Washington, Detroit & Philly - two of those were at full health but we were not. In the Washington game we were without Kancey, but we beat all 3 playoff teams early, last week we beat another one. Played some close losses, too.
The run offense keeps the other team’s offense off the field, and protects any lead because it allows for long drives & scores.
Adapting and letting the offense win games is kind of new for Bowels, but he’s likely understood that it’s a necessity…but he has been pretty good at stopping the run.
Our powerful o-line is healthy and in-synch, and it’s springing the perfect horses we have. Not much banged up opposing defenses can do at this point to stop us.
As BC has said, complimentary football.
However, it will be interesting to see if we can break the jinx of Monday night football, after the national media has been fawning over us for a week…
Hopefully the young Bucs don’t get caught up in the hype and just “do your job(s)”.
It's hard to perfectly judge Bowles because we ran a gauntlet to start and now we're playing cupcake...
As Biggs would say, thats what averages are for!
Kidding, I get the point but if you look at this thread every poster who has been particularly critical of Bowles NOW explains away the success when THEN they did NOT accept any explanation for failure (eg injury). Thats not coincidence because football people tend to defend their belief or position rather than look at things in a sort of search for the truth. Things are generally extreme black (Bowles is "incompetent") or white (Bowles is "great") when in reality Bowles is not even close to "incompetent" because he's the ARCHITECT of a defensive performance that won a Super bowl RECENTLY and hes not even close to "great" because, for example, he's too conservative sometime and mismanages timeouts.
But the football. world is "black" or "white" so you get things like "Bowles is to blame for not sitting Evans with his hamstring" which is this season version of "Mayfield is sending RBs the wrong way."
Anyway, on those averages. During the losing streak many posters celebrated the offense and cried that we "just need an average defense." Thee were right. An average defense we have . . . IF you include performances from "gauntlet" to "cupcake."
The full season defense PPG's is 23.2 per game.
We are down to that number because our average SINCE THE BYE is 15 per game
That stark improvement INCLUDES a huge performance in a BIG road win against a very good Chargers team. That clashes though with the "cupcakes' story line SO it becomes the defense played "solid for a half with Herbert on one leg."
His leg sure did heal up well in a few days! Unlucky Broncos!
In the article behind the link I posted above, Josh Q explains how Bowles came up with an UNUSUAL alignment to stop a feature of the Chargers' running game. In describing Bowles plan he says this about Bowles:
"Todd Bowles has been credited with one of the all-time great defensive gameplans in a Super Bowl when he used a two-high Cover 2 to help the Bucs win convincingly over Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LV, 31-9. Tampa Bay held Kansas City to just nine points enroute to the franchise’s second world title. But it was another Super Bowl defensive masterclass that may have inspired this gameplan."
The two high Cover 2 is the league trend now
The Chiefs even adjusted their offense some the next year.
If you have to choose a descriptor for Bowles and your choices are ONLY "incompetent" or "great" it cant be "incompetent" lmao BUT because things are "black" or "white" . .. well he's not only "incompetent" he's injuring our players!
FULL DISCLOSURE - I am not saying he's "great," especially because we are talking about HEAD COACH. I am just poking fun at the way many people discuss him. The TRUTH is on the FILM . . . as the football smart set used to say about Mayfield's failings. That FILM of this season says the Bucs defense started out much like last had soem critical injuries issues that Bowles COULD NOT overcome . . until the bye . . and he turned it around it some
I have to admit I'm a bit torn about Bowles. He obviously was and is a good DC. As HC he held the team together last year and this year after mid-season swoons. He's kept the defense together with duct tape and band aids this season, and they are trending up despite the cupcake opponents. His players seem to love him and give full effort.
The Super Bowl defensive performance was stellar, but we need to remember that the Chiefs offensive line was decimated by injuries, and less than capable replacements were trying to stop an effective Bucs pass rush. The Bucs offensive performance this season is living proof that a good to great offensive line is of utmost importance to overall success on both sides of the ball. The offense churns the clock with an effective run game mixed with a good passing attack, and the defense stays fresh resting on the bench.
My biggest beef with Bowles, and many here have said as much, is the in-game decisions. They've been covered here over and over. The all out blitz vs the Rams with the NFC title on the line. The timeouts that went uncalled during the Lions divisional playoff. Not going for two vs the Chiefs when the whole world knew the Chiefs would win at home in OT. Why rely on your defense vs Mahomes and the Chiefs when the offense is the team strength. It's almost like he needs a special assistant on the sideline to slap him awake at these critical moments to tell him what he should do. Bowles' conservative approach to game management has gone by the wayside in today's NFL. More and more teams are using fourth downs as an extra down instead of punting. Some teams go for two to win (or lose) with the game on the line. Bowles has demonstrated that he's unwilling to change his style. And these issues are what makes me unhappy about him being the Bucs head coach.
