“Hey Lavonte, you let me know if you see loafing against the run.”
Joe knows Todd Bowles is a stop-the-run-first kind of guy. This coaching philosophy is often at odds with the way the NFL is near the quarter pole of the 21st century.
(Dang, it seems like just yesterday Joe was preparing for the coming Y2K catastrophe.)
We live in a pass-first age. Without a quarterback, you are shiite out of luck. Most of the better teams throw to win. Of course, these teams have quarterbacks.
So while Bowles sticks to his guns the way he learned the NFL from Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells, lots of teams throw first and ask questions later.
At times, Joe thought this was Bowles’ Achilles heel. For example, last year the Bucs had a decent run defense but the pass defense got lit up for the second straight season.
Maybe too much focus on run defense and not enough on pass defense?
It seems Bowles and the Bucs took a step to correct that with the signing of edge rusher Haason Reddick. After Reddick’s introductory press conference, his new Bucs position coach and old position coach with the Cardinals, Larry Foote, showed up to lend support and made it clear Bowles is still all about stopping the run, first and foremost.
With Reddick now on a prove-it, one-year deal, will he be too focused on attacking quarterbacks? Might he overlook what Bowles wants his defense to do (stop the run) in order to hit the 2026 free agency jackpot with lots of sacks?
Foote said he’s not worried about it.
“Well, he can’t press,” Foote said of Reddick being too focused on sacks. “I will remind him, he can’t press. … You want to get sacks? Ah, we want you to get sacks!
“So, I mean that is just the nature of this game. It’s a pass-happy game. I just have to keep him grounded. You know, have to earn the right [to rush the passer].
“You have to play the run and I know he don’t mind that. And you have to be aggressive in the run game and be excited just like you are rushing the passer.”
Foote suggested Reddick will do just fine against the run because he’s not a one-trick pony.
“He reminds me of Shaq [Barrett] with a punch,” said Foote, referring to the Bucs sacks king.
So per Foote, it appears the Bucs have no desire to turn Reddick into a designated pass rusher. Sounds like he will be on the field as much as possible.
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