Buccaneers Hall of Famer reiterates Todd Bowles' message to team

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been one of the more successful franchises over the past five seasons. Under the leadership of both Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles, the Bucs have won the NFC South four times in that span while making the playoffs all five seasons. While not every season ended the way they had hoped, the Bucs were able to win a Super Bowl during this span along with reaching the divisional round twice.

The Bucs used to own one of the league's best defenses when Todd Bowles was the defensive coordinator. However, since becoming head coach, his defenses have slipped in production and game-changing plays.

In fact, this past season, the Buccaneers and Bowles' defense was just the 18th ranked defense in the league, struggled against the pass (29th), were middle of the pack in scoring defense (16th), red zone defense (14th) and third-down defense (14th) and also struggled to create turnovers only coming away with seven interceptions (26th).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles talks to referee Shawn Hochuli. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

While the Bucs struggled in some areas they were solid against the run (4th) and came away with 11 fumble recoveries (6th).

In a recent one-on-one interview, cornerback Ronde Barber, one of the best Bucs to ever play on the defensive side of the ball, gave his thoughts on what the team has been missing, mostly citing the lack of stops when the team needs it most.

“If you’re in the fourth quarter and you need the ball back, you need to ball back to give your offense a chance,” said Barber. “You need to get off the field in three damn downs or get a takeaway or something. Create something. They really haven’t shown that consistently over the years.”

As previously mentioned, the Bucs struggled on third down, which ultimately left their defense on the field longer and prevented the offense from having good field position. If the Bucs were able to be successful in this aspect of the game, they likely could have had some games turn out as wins rather than losses.

Barber continued to hammer his point home, even calling the defense "annoying" while mentioning a quote made by Bowles during an interview at the NFL annual meetings just last week.

“They don’t take the ball away very often, which is annoying,” says Barber. “Especially from a play-caller on defense perspective. They don’t put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. What he’s (Bowles) is trying to say, the killer instinct of enforcing your will, it’s happening against them.”

Ronde Barber reminisces on playing days, expands on head coach Todd Bowles' message

While Bowles likely was talking about the team as a whole with his comments about killer instincts, it is easy to read between the lines and realize that he was mostly talking about his defense. The Bucs' offense was one of the top units in the league last season, ranking top-five in multiple statistical categories, so it is easy to assume that his statement was geared towards the side of the ball that he coaches.

Continuing his conversation on the Buccaneers' defense lacking killer instinct, Barber reminisced on his playing days and the defenses he was a part of to give an idea of what Tampa Bay is missing.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers free safety Ronde Barber against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

“Great teams, one way or another, force their will on you,” said Barber. "When we were a good defense in the 2000s, we forced our will on you. We dared you to try to beat us, running the ball, throwing the ball. We’re like, ‘We dare you to come try to beat us.’ We’re going to out-execute, we’re going to outwork you, etc."

Of course those great Bucs' defenses of the 2000s included the likes of Barber, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch, who are all Hall of Fame players. While having a handful of legends on your defense helps, it ultimately takes all 11 players to form a formidable defense that opposing offenses are scared of.

Tampa Bay's defense that helped them win their second ever Super Bowl in 2020 was near that level, with players being at the top of their game at all three phases. While the Bucs believe they have a couple of those guys in the locker room now, they need them to step up and build up those around them for it to become a team game where they can once again start getting stops and instill fear into their opponents.

“We always got stops,” Barber continues to say. “The stats proved it right. What he’s saying is they need to find a team that can force their will on their opponent. If it’s in the fourth quarter and you need two first downs to end the game, you want to force your will on them with your defense.”

If Todd Bowles can tap into that philosophy that has somehow evaded him over the past few seasons, then the Bucs could well be on their way to a great season as long as all aspects of the team come together and they don't rely too heavily on one side of the ball, hopefully becoming a more balanced team that has that "killer instinct" to step on the throats of their opponents and put games away early.

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