Week 1: Falcons 23-20 W
Grizz: B-
Bowles: B-
Week 2: Texan 20-19 A
Grizz: C-
Bowles: B
Week 3: Jets 29-27 won
Grizz: B
Bowles: C+
Week 4: Eagles 31-25 L
Grizz: C-
Bowles: A-
Week 5: Seahawks 38-35 W
Grizz: A
Bowles: D
Week 6: Niner 30-19 W
Grizz: B
Bowles: B+
Week 7: Lions 24-9 L
Grizz: D-
Bowles: B+
Week 8: Saints 23-3 W
Grizz: D
Bowles: A (I'd give it A+ but it's the saints)
Analysis:
An argument could be made that Bowles has done a better job with the defense than Grizz has done with the offense.
Grizz seemingly turned a corner with Hawks/Niners then had the worst two games of his short career.
Outside of the Hawks game and the late game prevent defense vs the Jets, Bowles has been pretty damn good considering our edge and LB play.
I've been a Bowles hater but he deserves a ton of a credit for carrying Grizz who has been much more inconsistent.
Much needed bye week
Defense has been more consistent but the offense has shown more highs when they have healthy players because Mayfield has not looked 100% the last two weeks. With that said this is a dangerous team when they put it together and they will. Grizzard definitely took some rookie lumps the past two weeks but the bye is a great time for him to sit down and learn. Bowles is a veteran DC so his tweaks he said he made in the off season seem to be paying off and also forcing teams to adapt as he is no longer predictable.
Right now I would give the defense a B and the offense a B- overall the last eight total games.
However, it also helps that Bowles has his young DBs buying all in with his new defensive philosophy. And Dennis is starting to settle down while Diaby is starting to become a more consistent player that is starting to climb that ladder.
Licht has to deserve praise for his off season plan of doubling up on WR through the draft as he and Bowles determined they could have won several games extra last year with more healthy talented players at WR to work with. It seems their thinking is proving to be correct once more with Egbuka and T. Johnson really stepping up to the plate and are looking like future cogs in Grizzard's aerial assault.
The defensive talent drafted on the other hand is more like slow simmer but we are seeing the impact of having Morrison, Parrish, and Roberts on the squad. Morrison rotating in is keeping Dean healthier and may prolong his career. Parrish is just shadowing everything that comes his way and Roberts being used in a heavy rotation helps Vea, Hall, and Gaines since Kancey is out.
Licht and Bowles deserve credit for having the vision to ensure that last year did not happen again with a mid season slump and it has paid off so far.
Both great takes.
Just to avoid duplicating my only contribution is that Grizz is likely to be better than the last two games, especially when you look at Mayfield's (injured) play in those two games
and Egbuka too
I am willing to wait to see how the Grizz story unfolds. The offense was was 27.5 ppg two weeks ago versus Coen's 29.5 in 2024. Thats pretty damn good.
If the offense can get the running game going (better line play, Bucky Irving, Goedeke) and Mayfield goes back to playing like he did before the last two games, the offense will be really tough!
Heaven forbid the defense stays on its trajectory. They are half a point per game better than last season so far, but that is with some ST points. Take those out and the defense is about a FG better so far.
Licht was smart to go deep at corner and WR. Our secondary is now top 15 or maybe even top 10 despite the stats.
We're getting killed in space underneath. David is playing as well as you'd expect but Dennis is a statue... So more kudos to Bowles for winning with a below average front 7.
We can't ignore the injuries for the o-line and potentially Baker airmailing because of the oblique injury but... You can't be hyper vanilla with that in mind because defense are pinning their ears back.
There's no excuse for what Grizz did on the goal line for example. If the line is banged up then why are you running into the teeth of their defense. I feel like Grizz isn't scheming anything open, he's winning too often with talent.
So I'd say Bowles has def outcoached Grizz... Especially when Grizz's last 2 weeks were major struggles against mediocre/poor defenses.
So I'd say Bowles has def outcoached Grizz... Especially when Grizz's last 2 weeks were major struggles against mediocre/poor defenses.
Eh, you still have to factor in the high number of injuries on the offensive side of the ball and Baker's subpar play the last two games. Even at that, the 15th ranked scoring offense has an ever-so-slight advantage over the 16th ranked scoring defense.
But, so far, I will agree that Bowles has been a better DC than he was last season.
Bowles has had injuries too but luckily we have CB depth this year thanks to Licht seeing that need with the awful CBs we ran out there last year. We are legit 4 deep and it lets Smith play safety.
I'm as big of a Bowles hater as they come but outside of the Hawks game, the defense has carried their weight.
Baker might be hurt and that's why he is air mailing throws and double clutching but Grizz still shit the bed a few times with his goal line dive dive dive and his deep ball throws against Lions (not minimizing an aggressive pass rush).
Grizz imo hasn't schemed a lot open outside of the Hawks game... Baker may have been bad the last 2 games but he also bailed out Grizz the other games so....more than a wash imo.
For example the eagles game both deep TDs came on broken (extended) plays.
Baker willed us to victory in 3 wins.
Grizz imo hasn't schemed a lot open outside of the Hawks game... Baker may have been bad the last 2 games but he also bailed out Grizz the other games so....more than a wash imo.
There have quite a few receivers schemed open that the QB missed the last two games. Reminiscent of the 2023 season, unfortunately.
And there is no defending the goal line playcalling. That was a WTF series of play calls.
And sure, the defense has lost Kancey (is that really that big a deal?) and other players here and there. But nothing like the offense has had to deal with, with Evans, Godwin, Bucky, Wirfs, Goedeke, Mauch, Jordan, etc. all missing extended time.
Grizz imo hasn't schemed a lot open outside of the Hawks game... Baker may have been bad the last 2 games but he also bailed out Grizz the other games so....more than a wash imo.
There have quite a few receivers schemed open that the QB missed the last two games. Reminiscent of the 2023 season, unfortunately.
And there is no defending the goal line playcalling. That was a WTF series of play calls.
And sure, the defense has lost Kancey (is that really that big a deal?) and other players here and there. But nothing like the offense has had to deal with, with Evans, Godwin, Bucky, Wirfs, Goedeke, Mauch, Jordan, etc. all missing extended time.
True true but remember the offense started with way more.
Bowles has to overcome Dennis, who has the lateral movement of my 40 year old ass
Grizz imo hasn't schemed a lot open outside of the Hawks game... Baker may have been bad the last 2 games but he also bailed out Grizz the other games so....more than a wash imo.
There have quite a few receivers schemed open that the QB missed the last two games. Reminiscent of the 2023 season, unfortunately.
And there is no defending the goal line playcalling. That was a WTF series of play calls.
And sure, the defense has lost Kancey (is that really that big a deal?) and other players here and there. But nothing like the offense has had to deal with, with Evans, Godwin, Bucky, Wirfs, Goedeke, Mauch, Jordan, etc. all missing extended time.
True true but remember the offense started with way more.
Bowles has to overcome Dennis, who has the lateral movement of my 40 year old ass
Every defensive player on the team is here because Bowles wants to him here. It’s goes back to what we were discussing earlier with the dogshit run of first picks taken on defense, with Devin White, JTS, Logan Hall, & Calijah Kancey. Obviously, Licht deserves blame for that shitty run too, but he doesn’t pick those guys without Bowles signing off. Bowles has to own those guys and the opportunity costs associated with them.
This defense could have Josh Allen and George Karlaftis, but alas…
Fair points but personnel is one thing... I'm just strictly saying the talent to begin this year, regardless of Bowles endorsing it, is still the talent. He's finally getting the most out of the talent he has and keeping offenses off balance.
He's by no means sold me on the season but he's owed some props imo.
If he keeps it up and Grizz figures it out, we are a legit contender.
Fair points but personnel is one thing... I'm just strictly saying the talent to begin this year, regardless of Bowles endorsing it, is still the talent. He's finally getting the most out of the talent he has and keeping offenses off balance.
He's by no means sold me on the season but he's owed some props imo.
Agreed. I've already said that the DC has been better this year. There have been way less "WTF?" calls from the DC this season.
I just disagree that the DC has out-coached/outperformed the OC, given the higher scoring ranking of the offense and high number of injuries to important players to that offense. I would probably argue Bowles the HC has done a better job getting the team ready to perform under the circumstances than either coordinator.
Every defensive player on the team is here because Bowles wants to him here.
Just using Logan Hall as an example.
Logan Hall is here because the team needed AN INTERIOR DEFENSIVE PLAYER (no Suh anymore) and DRAFT CAPITAL and he was one of four or fine that would do lmao, which ever one was available. Hardly a love affair with Hall. In fact the Bucs considered trading his pick - the 27th turned 33rd - again, but then took him because he was the LAST of the 4 or 5 players still available.
"We had a few players at 27 that we targeted," said Bowles. "Moving back to 33, which was the first [pick] today, we had one guy left there. The other ones went off the board, so it wouldn't have been smart for us to trade back down and lose the guy we wanted."
"Like I said, we had four or five guys that we liked at 27 [and] they were pretty even," said Bowles. "When you have guys like that that's pretty even and somebody wants to come up, you have to be sure that you want to come away with one of them. You don't want to trade back to the 40th pick or the 45th pick and not be able to get anybody. You felt good about all four or five guys; it wasn't just Devonte, there were quite a few guys there we liked. So we were confident we could get one the second day, which we did, and we got some picks in the process."
NFL TEAMS are not always drafting BPA. They are always balancing NEEDS and ability.
Bowles is the HC. He wants players, not picks, BUT THEY NEEDED MANY PLAYERS and Bowles is a team player.
Flash forward to Licht saying Bowles dod a great job "WITH WHAT HE HAD."
Bowles is the HC. He wants players, not picks, BUT THEY NEEDED MANY PLAYERS and Bowles is a team player.
Just to underscore how silly it is to suggest that Bowles loved Hall . . . the trade back from 27 to 33 got them Hall AND ALSO HELPED THE GET . . .
"Bucs' general manger Jason Licht orchestrated four trades over the course of the three-day event to create additional draft capital. In the first round, the Bucs moved back from the 27th overall pick to the first pick in the second round (33) and acquired the first picks in the fourth and sixth rounds respectively. The Buccaneers continued the trend on Friday with additional shifts.
The next deal slid the Bucs up three spots from 60 to 57 in round two, to ensure that Luke Goedeke was still on the board. To secure the trade with the Buffalo Bills, the Buccaneers gave up the additional sixth-round pick from the Jaguars on Thursday and sent it to the Bills for Goedeke."
They alos got OTTON, McCollum and Kieft in that draft. I recall McCollum was a 203 pick traded. Not sure about the others.
But next time we break out the 'Bowles loved Hall" stuff . . maybe it at least has to be Bowles (actually Licht) Loved Hall and Goedeke? And . . . multiple division championships :-)