Getty Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles may consider some personnel changes.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now at 3-5, head coach Todd Bowles is leaving everything on the table.
Following the Buccaneers’ fifth loss in their past six games, the first-year head coach took a different stance this week when it comes to possible personnel changes. While Bowles had previously indicated there would be no coaching changes following Tampa Bay’s 21-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, the head coach took a different approach this week.
Via Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times:
“Todd Bowles said no coaching changes would be made after Sunday’s loss at Carolina,” said Bowles. “But Thursday he said, ‘We’re going to talk about everything. When you’re not playing well, everything is on the table for us and we’ll discuss that as a staff.'”
Some fans took to Twitter to react to Bowles’ comments. Needless to say, some are blaming Bowles for the Buccaneers’ struggles.
@Connor_J_Hughes The owner of the Bucs is just not smart. I’m sure Arians told him he thought Bowles was right for the job but anyone that watched the todd Bowles jets could tell you he wasn’t head coaching material. I’ll never forget his smirks and soft grins while they lost all the time.
One fan even pointed out that offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich may be counting down his days with the Buccaneers.
Buccaneers Vastly Outplayed After First Quarter
The Buccaneers fell to the Baltimore Ravens, 27-22, in their Week 8 loss on Thursday, October 27. While the score looked respectable, Tampa Bay was actually vastly outplayed following their first quarter domination.
After the Buccaneers scored 10 points in the first quarter, Tampa Bay’s offense stagnated. As Greg Auman of The Athletic noted, the Ravens actually out-gained the Buccaneers, 218-36, from the end of the first quarter until the 9:05 mark of the third quarter when Baltimore tied the game at 10 on Lamar Jackson’s touchdown pass to Kenyan Drake.
“Bucs have now been outgained 218-36 since Vita Vea’s sack of Lamar Jackson on final play of the first quarter,” said Auman.
There isn’t one problem that the Buccaneers have through eight games. It’s a little bit of everything. Tampa Bay has become too reliant on a 45-year-old Tom Brady to carry the team, despite a running game that ranks dead last in the league in rushing yards and yards per attempt (3.0 yards per carry entering Week 8).
Making matters even worse is that the offense’s inability to piece together a consistent 60-minute game leaves the defense vulnerable for long stretches. The Ravens dominated the Buccaneers in time of possession — 38:23 to 21:37 — while gashing Tampa Bay’s run defense for 231 yards on 33 carries (7.0 yards per attempt).
The Buccaneers actually went five consecutive drives during the second and third quarters, failing to put together a drive that lasted for more than six plays or 28 yards.
‘We Keep Shooting Ourselves in the Foot,’ Says Bowles
“We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, whether it is mentally, whether it’s penalties, (or) whether it’s missed assignments,” said Bowles. “We have to play better. We have to play better all the way around — it’s not just the offense, it’s special teams and the defense (too).”
The Buccaneers scored just one offensive touchdown until a late fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Julio Jones. They continued to lack efficiency on third downs (4-of13) and in the red zone (2-of-5) — usually the deciding factors in a game.
“I think we struggled in pretty much at everything,” said Brady after the game. We just struggled in the red area, struggled on third down, struggled in the run game, two-point plays, short yardage, when backed up, at the start of the first quarter, start of the third quarter — not very good offensive football.”
With the Buccaneers reaching their lowest point of the season and a 10-day layoff before their next game, Bowles may actually go through with some coaching changes.