It’s obvious not only to the average Buccaneers fan sitting at a bar or in the comfort of their home that Todd Bowles’s cushion coverage scheme is terrible.
The great Tom Brady mentioned that the Bucs’ defense should “tighten up” during the 49ers game, Bryce Young against zone coverage had 253 yards while in Man coverage he threw for 54 yards against the Buccaneers, and Kirk Cousins threw close to 800 yards with 8 touchdowns and one interception combined two games. Out of the three games mentioned, the Bucs lost. Many Bucs fans would also blame cushion coverage for the losses at the Chiefs in overtime and the final drive against the 49ers with 40 seconds left and Brock Purdy marched down the field to set up the game-winning field goal. I have another theory other than the scheme to show what else has plagued this Bucs defense.
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Many Bowles apologists love to run to the “Bucs have massive injuries” to excuse the Buccaneers poor play despite the Bowles defeating teams like Detroit and LA Chargers with backups (that’s a topic for another article). However, let’s dive into the injuries because certain plays and injuries intrigued me due to the scheme Bowles likes to run. Antoine Winfield has missed 6 games throughout the season (4 due to a foot injury and 2 with a knee injury). Jamel Dean has missed 4 games due to hamstring injuries.
Christian Izien has been placed on IR due to a pectoral injury along with Jordan Whitehead who’s been MIA since week 12 against the Giants. Tykee Smith missed the entire 2nd half against the Ravens due to a concussion and missed 3 games due to a knee injury. Mike Edwards missed 2 games due to a hamstring injury. I would like to point out this is just an opinion and not based on concrete evidence to support my statement before I have folks giving me a hard time. I believe Bowles’ zone cushion coverage, is putting extra stress on the players to play harder which in turn is causing the players to get injured at an alarming rate. According to NFL.com.
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The average height and weight for an NFL cornerback is 5’11 193lbs while the average NFL Wide receiver is 6’0 200lbs. As the league progresses, wide receivers such as Julio Jones (6’3 220 Lbs.), Metcalf (6’4 235 Lbs.), and Mike Evans (6’5, 231 Lbs.) are becoming more common in the game. Playing 6-10 yards off wide receivers of that size with speed and power is a lot to ask a cornerback to make an open-field tackle when he’s running at full speed not to mention attempting to get through a screen block from a massive offensive lineman or Tight End.
The cornerback must make a tackle on a running back typically 225 Lbs. I believe the Bowles scheme puts extra space for safeties and corners to run at full speed to make tackles thus putting extra stress on their bodies and raising the chances of injuries. It’s no wonder most of the secondary injuries involve hamstring and knee issues.
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I’m also not surprised to see DBS getting concussions if they constantly must run 10 extra yards just to make the tackle. It’s a lot to ask Winfield (5’9, 203lbs), Whitehead (5’10, 198 Lbs.), Tykee Smith (5’10, 203 Lbs.) Edwards (5’10, 218 Lbs.) Dean (6’1, 205 Lbs.) Izien (5’10, 201 Lbs.) and McCollum (6’2, 20 Lbs.) constantly run unnecessary extra yards for a tackle that physically and mentally wears them down. I believe if Bowles played more man press coverage that could minimize injuries and win games.
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