Bowles didn’t have final say when Licht donked off a premium pick on Spence, now did he?
SR is advocating trading for Trey Hendrickson. Not the worst idea.
I’d double down and still trade up for Mike Green
Bowles didn’t have final say when Licht donked off a premium pick on Spence, now did he?
You keep making this point, so you must think it’s a good one. It isn’t. Why don’t you address the defensive players that have been selected early that have sucked, like Devin White, JTS, Logan Hall, etc.? Were all of those guys forced down Bowles’ throat? Poor fella.
Bucs tried rookies on defense with Braswell and Smith and they had mixed results
think that was Bowles choice?
:-)
He's the head coach so... Someone has to take responsibility. I doubt he has zero input on the draft.
And he has full control of the defense so he has final say.
Over the budget too? Impressive!
kidding aside, I don’t know how you reconcile that point of view with Lichts comment after the playoff loss.
what did Licht mean if not that Bowles has been making due with what they have on defense while they get through the dead cap?
Bucs tried rookies on defense with Braswell and Smith and they had mixed results
think that was Bowles choice?
:-)
He's the head coach so... Someone has to take responsibility. I doubt he has zero input on the draft.
Fire, come on. One reason you would RELY on rookie draft picks is . . . the CAP. Bowles control the CAP?
This season we STARTED . . . . STARTED . . . a position in PLATOON . . . Brit and SVD. You think any HC wants to platoon a position?
What about a DC who is known for wanting "CHESS PIECES" (guys who can do multiple things)
This kind of stuff is why I mentioned the "Bowles=bad" approach of fans. This topic is the logical equivalent of "mayfield is sending the RB the wrong way."
I'm not sure what you're meaning with that last paragraph but you keep saying it so I'm guessing it's something to do with your feud with Biggs?
Regarding the rest I'm fully aware I have a Bowles=bad bias... Because I in fact think he is a top 10 worst coach in the league despite finding success with 500 football.
I'm saying he's the one in the war room drafting Devin White and reaching on DEs near the end of the first and I'm certain he had input on trading Davis, signing Dean, making Winfield the highest paid player... He certainly has input on leaving players in the game late to get hurt (Winfield and Godwin).
At some point we gotta look at his defenses the past 3 years and say... Is our defensive minded head coach building something where the whole is better than the sum of it's parts?
Even if we are to assume Bowles does not have final say you have to be flexible with the scheme and adapt. That is what other DCs in the NFC did like Flores, Evero and Mac.
Why do I keep bringing up Flores, Evero and Mac? Because they have been using shallow zone concepts more consistently than Bowles the last few years. Bowles heavy turn to heavy zone schemes didn't start in 2024 due to injuries as PR staff alludes to which is a lazy take. It started last season when the Bucs had Dean, Davis and McCollum on the roster because teams were using the shallow zone to counter Shanahan and McVay shallow route concepts. So Bowles is taking what works around the league with other DCs and there is nothing wrong with that. It is very telling that Winfield Jr had an MVP season in 2023 but lets talk about the present.
The problem with the 2024 defensive approach that Bowles had is that he should know better with his personnel limitations:
1. To run a heavy zone scheme you need stud edge rushers. Bucs are not even close to that paradigm as the Bucs had a lot of prospects that they kicked the tires with to see what they had on the roster. Diaby is knocking the door as he shows all the metrics but edge rushers do have a learning curve along with CBs and QBs in this league. That is the truth. JTS and Nelson are known quantities and Watts/Ramirez are project players. Braswell was disappointing because what JTS was doing out there in 2024 wasn't anything special and could have surpassed him like Diaby did the year prioer. But moving forward Diaby is the starter with Braswell his reserve as they are a similar build and playstyle. Bucs need an edge rusher opposite that is more dynamic with agility in space for coverage but also wins with speed or converts speed to power.
2. If you use the blitz to generate pressures and have layers of zone underneath you need guys that can tackle reliably.
Bucs tackling was so bad 2024 and it was primarily because of poor technique. Part of the blame goes to players but also part of it goes to coaches for not calling out such players. Even guys that were reliably tacklers like Izien and Whitehead looked off in 2024 which sent alarm bells in my mind as to what is going on. Winfield Jr. has never been known as a reliable tackler but he too looked off. Safeties typically are the most reliable defenders on defense and only Merriweather looked the part in 2024. With a heavy zone defense that Bowles called for Dean and McCollum are not known as zone CBs because they are not in your face tacklers. They are m2m CBs point blank and while McCollum has cleaned up his tackling he is not what I consider a prototypical zone CB.
3. Buc have cornerbacks that can run 4.4 or even 4.3 and how many sacks did the Bucs have from all their DBs in 2024? 3 (2 from Winfield Jr) What about 2023? Winfield Jr. had 6 alone in 2023.
T. Smith was drafted to upgrade over Izien as a NCB as he is more fluid in coverage but he can also be used as a blitzing weapon. Bowles didn't use him in that way which is a shame because to run a shallow fire zone scheme you need to be able to blitz NCBs and boundary CBs to really keep offenses on their toes. But also to help out the OLBs that drop into a shallow zone coverage. Because even if you have an elite pass coverage OLB if a a QB has time they will beat that shallow zone coverage every time. Because RBs and WRs are always a mismatch against most LB's at the NFL level. Most NFL teams have one pass coverage LB on their roster. It is not realistic to stock a full roster of pass coverage ILBs because that is like a team having two starting caliber LTs which is super rare and not likely.
Patriots did this for years with no pass coverage ILBs (and won a Super Bowl against the McVay Rams) but they protect them by using third safeties in shallow robber zones or NCBs, etc.
Moving forward Dennis and LVD are the starting LBs unless the Bucs do not re-sign LVD or the Bucs burn a first round pick on a ILB (not seeing it). Also the talk of LVD not being good in coverage ignores that coverage grades are subjective because you do not know what is 100% the responsibility of a defender on a given play. It may look like LVD has responsibility of a shallow zone but if he is dropping down the seam then he is merely reacting to what is in front of him and following the play design. Can't blame LVD if his "pass coverage score is lowered on that when you have two boundary CBs playing 10 yards off coverage and LVD is dropping the same distance. But then a WR runs a shallower crosser and LVD is dinged for that.
Also the talk of LVD not being good in coverage ignores that coverage grades are subjective because you do not know what is 100% the responsibility of a defender on a given play.
Biggs will be along any moment to call you and idiot lmao
I certainly understand PFF grading is subjective and even acknowledged another post that correctly pointed out that his grade is influenced by he reality that he was asked to cover for a lot of bad play, but you can see with your eyes what matches with your normal human experience and that is that he's slowed down some. You can also mitigate some of that subjectivity by notice the trend. What was LVD';s coverage grade in 2022, 2023 and 2024
None of that means LVD can no longer play. It just means that most teams would NOT see him as the cornerstone of a playoff team in 2025
I hope he plays again and absolutely kill it. The Bucs should NOT be relying on that
I'm not sure what you're meaning with that last paragraph but you keep saying it so I'm guessing it's something to do with your feud with Biggs?
No feud, just using the Hilarious "Mayfield sending RBs the wrong way" as an example of the typical piling on you see here.
JC trolls by taking an absurd position about a player and then creating out of context stats ("Tucker is key to scoring because was on the field for 18 TD").
Biggs trolls by calling everyone dumb while simultaneously posting hilarious errors (ESPN analytics are facts, PFF is objective etc etc) AND over-the-top stuff. So, in 2023 Mayfield was the target of the football smart set and one of those crazy Mayfield game day thread posts was that the running game struggles were ALSO on Mayfield because Mayfield was sending the RBs the wrong way.
I think this year - when Mayfield actually had some control over play calling - maybe he only sent White the wrong way? ;-)
Bowles didn’t have final say when Licht donked off a premium pick on Spence, now did he?
You keep making this point, so you must think it’s a good one. It isn’t. Why don’t you address the defensive players that have been selected early that have sucked, like Devin White, JTS, Logan Hall, etc.? Were all of those guys forced down Bowles’ throat? Poor fella.
Licht picks the players. The strengths and weaknesses of the Bucs drafting by position has been fairly consistent since 2014 no matter who he coaches are.
Strengths- WR, Offensive line, DB
Weakness- Edge, QB (maybe unfair to judge Trask), TE, ILB
JC trolls by taking an absurd position about a player and then creating out of context stats ("Tucker is key to scoring because was on the field for 18 TD").
Is 6.2 yards per carry out of context?
In 192 yards, 2 TDs and 51 points out of context?
Bowles didn’t have final say when Licht donked off a premium pick on Spence, now did he?
You keep making this point, so you must think it’s a good one. It isn’t. Why don’t you address the defensive players that have been selected early that have sucked, like Devin White, JTS, Logan Hall, etc.? Were all of those guys forced down Bowles’ throat? Poor fella.
Licht picks the players. The strengths and weaknesses of the Bucs drafting by position has been fairly consistent since 2014 no matter who he coaches are.
Strengths- WR, Offensive line, DB
Weakness- Edge, QB (maybe unfair to judge Trask), TE, ILB
I feel sorry for the DC turned HC doesn’t get any input on the high defensive players that were drafted. Poor fella.
For the record, I’m not absolving Licht from those picks. He’s the final decision maker, but you’re not stupid enough to believe Bowles didn’t sign-off on them.
No feud, just using the Hilarious "Mayfield sending RBs the wrong way" as an example of the typical piling on you see here.
It’s not my fault that this dipshit doesn’t understand how run-checks work.
Bowles didn’t have final say when Licht donked off a premium pick on Spence, now did he?
You keep making this point, so you must think it’s a good one. It isn’t. Why don’t you address the defensive players that have been selected early that have sucked, like Devin White, JTS, Logan Hall, etc.? Were all of those guys forced down Bowles’ throat? Poor fella.
Licht picks the players. The strengths and weaknesses of the Bucs drafting by position has been fairly consistent since 2014 no matter who he coaches are.
Strengths- WR, Offensive line, DB
Weakness- Edge, QB (maybe unfair to judge Trask), TE, ILB
I feel sorry for the DC turned HC doesn’t get any input on the high defensive players that were drafted. Poor fella.
For the record, I’m not absolving Licht from those picks. He’s the final decision maker, but you’re not stupid enough to believe Bowles didn’t sign-off on them.
This is your way of playing both sides. Licht makes the picks. Signing off, influence, doesn't matter. These are all Licht's picks and he can't evaluate edge rushers in the draft. He passes on good ones and drafts bad ones. The Hendrickson to the Bucs talk will heat up at the combine.
No feud, just using the Hilarious "Mayfield sending RBs the wrong way" as an example of the typical piling on you see here.
It’s not my fault that this dipshit doesn’t understand how run-checks work.
but it is your fault that you’re a thin-skinned lying troll. Lol
that's such a cowardly lie, Biggs
JC trolls by taking an absurd position about a player and then creating out of context stats ("Tucker is key to scoring because was on the field for 18 TD").
Is 6.2 yards per carry out of context?
In 192 yards, 2 TDs and 51 points out of context?
yes abd yes especially because you claimed “iced”