Bruce Arians has already solidified himself as one of the best coaches in Buccaneers history, but that doesn’t mean Todd Bowles can’t make a change.
Todd Bowles is in a difficult situation as the new head coach of the Buccaneers. This is not due to the roster, which is one of the best in history for a new head coach, but due to the shadow that Bruce Arians will cast on this franchise.
There are plenty of arguments out there that Arians has already made a case as the best Bucs head coach in franchise history. Whether you agree with that or not, his name is going up in the Ring of Honor this year, and the current situation makes that even stranger.
Regardless of the circumstances, Arians was not fired, and Bowles is going to get to coach his first full season since the Jets with Arians still in the front office.
The relationship between these two appears to be great and the team is equipped to compete in 2022, but let’s not pretend that trying to create a legacy on your own is easy with your former boss still in a leadership role.
Some people would see this as intimidating and would fail to make necessary changes. Bowles can’t let this happen.
No one would ever say that the teams of the past two years have been perfect, and one area that everyone can agree with this on is the run game. Whether you think it needs to be more efficient or more common, no one should think that the Bucs run the ball as well as they could.
Leftwich and Arians obviously value the pass above the run, but Bowles has made it clear that he wants to run the ball more in 2022. While we would argue that this is counterproductive, there are ways to at least up the efficiency when trying to accomplish Bowles’ goals.
For starters, stop running on first down. Short of a moment where the team is intentionally trying to bleed the clock, the Bucs need to throw the ball on first down far more than they have in the past.
The Bucs frequently wasted first down on a play that would account for a fraction of what it would if Tom Brady was throwing and then forced themselves into a more difficult second and long where other teams knew the pass was coming.
If Bowles wants to run more on second and medium or third and short, go for it. The offensive line and Leonard Fournette have already proven that they can make this work. But running on first and then trying to make up ground on second is going to hurt this offensive substantially if it is going to happen more in 2022.
Running the ball isn’t a bad thing, but the Buccaneers have to be smarter about this side of their game under Todd Bowles.
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