Offense is king in the NFL. The Buccaneers need their offense to be healthy to win in the playoffs, and that seems like a tough prospect now.
Todd Bowles might be a great defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but that doesn’t mean that he is the best option for the team as a head coach.
There have been several times this season where Bowles has done something that has made people question the decision, and the choice to keep the starters in the game against the Falcons for so long will be one such point of discussion.
Playing the starters for a few reps in a meaningless game isn’t a bad decision in its own right. The Bucs still need reps to get everyone on the same page before the playoffs start. However, playing guys well into the second half after watching several players go down or take hits is something different altogether.
The Bucs lost center Robert Hainsey early in the game. This should’ve been the first alarm bell. Bowles should’ve then taken all non-essential personnel out of the game.
Instead, Bowles kept the starters in the game, Tom Brady took some bad hits, and Russell Gage was shaken up at the end of the first half.
The Bucs got little from these reps after the first quarter. The only thing that ended up coming was concern that another injury could follow Hainsey’s.
Coaches can’t really control injuries or when they are going to happen, but Bowles is conservative enough that he should recognize why the right decision is getting the important players off the field after the dam started to show some cracks.
Hopefully the Buccaneers can make it through the rest of the game without losing any more important players.
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