If one were to be on the game show “Family Feud” hosted by Steve Harvey and the survey topic was about what Bucs fans get most frustrated with Todd Bowles about, there’s a very high chance that his cornerbacks playing too far off the line of scrimmage would be the number one answer.
We watched that last season as the Bucs got sliced and diced on defense with short-to-intermediate passes because receivers were already open three and five yards down the field and had more room to operate with such a big cushion. This has come much to the chagrin of Bucs fans with their anger directed towards Bowles, whose responsibilities outside of being Tampa Bay’s head coach is also that of the defensive play-caller.
Why Did The Bucs Play So Far Off Coverage?
So why has that been in an issue? The good news is that the Bucs are putting a halt to that type of coverage. Todd Bowles was on the Pewter Report Podcast on Monday where a fan-submitted question got straight to the point in asking, “Why do you like to play our outside corners so far off a lot of the time?”
This was Bowles’ response:
“Honestly I do not,” Bowles said. “That’s something we’re working through right now and that is not required by the staff. The communication that we have and the situations that these guys got to understand that they have to move up more and we’ve talked about it probably all year. I would like to see them up as well. I will see them up a lot more, there’s only a few instances where you will see them back and I’m on the same page with you so I certainly understand.”
Bucs CB Zyon McCollum and head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
A response like this from Bowles goes back to the growth as a coach that he’s shown all offseason. We’ve seen another side of Bowles where he’s more straightforward than he’s ever been, while also speaking his mind. The biggest thing that’s been noticeable is his ability to be self aware and do some honest self scouting. He knows in-game management has been an issue, so he went out and hired Zach Beistline to help with those moments of when to call a timeout, when to go for two points, when to punt, kick or go for it, or when to challenge a play.
That same self awareness has come about with his response about the loose coverage that was initiated last season. It just wasn’t working, and the Bucs pass defense was in the bottom five in the league as a result. Bowles also hinted at the fact that he just didn’t have the personnel he wanted to deploy, but the Bucs took care of that this offseason by drafting cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish in rounds two and three.
Todd Bowles Talks About Another Coverage For Bucs
Another subsidiary of the Bucs coverage that we were to eager to hear about is if the Tampa Bay would implement more match coverage in the secondary. Match coverage means taking one of the team’s corners and having him follow the opponents’ top receiver for the majority of the game instead of having each corner stationed on one side of the field.
The Bucs found success in this a couple of seasons ago when they assigned Carlton Davis III to play man coverage against Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with Davis getting the better of the matchup back in 2022. Tampa Bay typically keeps Zyon McCollum on the left side and Jamel Dean on the right side.
Former Bucs CB Carlton Davis III and Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
When asked about the possibility of more match coverage, Bowles actually said that type of coverage is outdated today – even though it wasn’t that long ago. But, the personnel they have this season gives him the flexibility to do so in other ways.
“I think the game has changed from three or four years ago,” Bowles said. “They don’t really let you match a lot anymore. To play match coverage you got to be left, you got to be middle, you got to be the slot, you got to be the right corner. And depending on the coverage, everything changes for you. If you haven’t gotten all those reps in there you’re going to be a fish out of water.”
“Even when we traveled Carlton, he traveled, but then if his guy was inside he just went out further. He went all the way outside because the comfortability and the things you have to teach him in there would take so long for him to learn during that game week that it was hard to do. They came over in the slot a lot, and it’s not just about those guys matching up, it’s can we match up with the tight end? Can we match up with the running back? If you got this guy and you can take him away, what about the other three guys?
Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“If you don’t feel good about those matchups, you really don’t want to match up too many times, but we have that capability. I think this year with the additions of [Benjamin] Morrison and [Jacob] Parrish along with Zyon and obviously [Jamel] Dean, I think we can do some things like that and match up personnel because they’re kind of all interchangeable in certain man coverages.”
