Todd Bowles & Larry Foote On Team Adjustments & Saints Showdown | Bucs Total Access

Reporter Casey Phillips sits down with Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles and Passing Game Coordinator Larry Foote after Week 5’s game vs. the Atlanta Falcons. They discuss key plays needed for future success and preview the upcoming Saints matchup.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's that three?

Speaker 2 (00:01):
What's three?

Speaker 3 (00:05):
This is Buccaneers Total Access with head coach Todd Bowles.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
The hell of the job.

Speaker 4 (00:10):
Going back by.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Here mate field shotgun.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Look looks right, I'm back to let those towards left
court Ball Evans at the five another three too, what
touchdouts have a bay? There you go.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Fire the cannons, Miike.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
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Speaker 1 (00:41):
Fire the Cannons now.

Speaker 5 (00:43):
Your host Bocks, team reporter Casey Phillips and head coach
Todd Bowles.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Welcome into the Todd Bowles Show. Casey Phillips here with
head coach Todd Bowles. So let's go and take a
look back at that game. I know there's gonna be
a lot we're going to talk about later in the show,
moving forward with hurricane prep in the next game and
all of that, but for now, looking back at that
Thursday night game, what was your message to the team afterward?

Speaker 4 (01:04):
In the locker room, too many mistakes. We had our
chances to win. We made a bunch of plays on
both sides of the ball, but we gave up a
bunch of plays. We can't play the Bucks and the Falcons,
and that was the biggest thing coming from it. And
they saw it and they know it, and we'll get
better this week.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
In previous games, it felt like we were always able
to sort of answer in the big moments or the
momentum swinging moments in the Lions game and some of
these we saw that. But in this game, it felt
like we weren't able to capitalize on some of those
moments that would have put the game away. Was there
anything that you could tell was sort of the consistent
throughout those or why we weren't able to answer the
way we had been in certain other games.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
We just didn't make the plays. I mean, it's a
long season. It's going to happen like that. You got
to deal with some adversity and this time, this game
was one of ours, and we had plays at the
end we could have won it on either side of
the football.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
We didn't make them. I know.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Kirk Cousins ended up with five hundred nine yards, which
has probably kept you up at night even more than
you already do it with your three am wake up calls.
What happened specifically in the past game to let him
put up some numbers.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
Like that, it was more to yak yards after catch.
We got the same route similar to Detroit. We missed
a bunch of tackles, we missed the line, and we
didn't play proper coverage.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Did you feel like I know that you guys are
always going to say that you can't use injuries as
an excuse and next man up and all of those things,
But did it feel like this was a game where
finally just so many different injuries on the defensive side
caught up to you a little bit.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
I really didn't see it that way. I just thought
we were miss the ligne, didn't make a bunch of plays.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
What did you see from specifically Jamel and Zion in
this game?

Speaker 4 (02:34):
Zion played well for the most part. He could have
ran through that ball and got the interception for us,
and then got his hands on a couple of balls
as well. We just have to come down with those.
Instead of getting pbu's, we got to get interceptions. But
on the outside. The ball's not going over our heads.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
It is nice to know that you're going to get
another shot at them. That's the beauty of it being
the first of the two matchups. So looking at the
fact that we will play them again before too long.
What did you learn specifically about covering Mooney in London? Much?

Speaker 4 (03:00):
They were good receivers going in. I mean, we knew
what they were going to do. We just didn't stop them.
We got to do a better job of game planning.
We got to do a better job of playing them
next time.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
What stands out to you about specifically the overtime drive
and then also the one that sent it into overtime. Defensively,
what about those two different drives stands out?

Speaker 4 (03:17):
No fourth down we could have got on off the
field before the field goal the first play. We could
have held the clock longer. Twelve seconds is usually not
enough time to get another playoff, but they got another playoff,
and we could have held them down longer. But the
clock should have gone out then overtime play. Zion tried
to make a play. He got his hand on the ball.
Actually he didn't make a play. The guy had turned
it up in man coverage and everybody else was.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
In Chase Modie, I know, Levante, David Man. I mean,
we're just gonna forever talk about some incredible stats and
things that that guy is still doing at this age especially,
But eight tackles, a couple passes defensed, that incredible fourth
quarter interception. How impressive was this game from him? For you?

Speaker 4 (03:54):
It was impressive with the big plays, but the minor things.
I thought he could do some things better, and he
tried to overconfidence it a few times. We just got
to give back to him making his own plays and
everybody else making their plays.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
I know that. You know, we're used to talking about
his tackles or even his force fumbles, but now he's got,
you know, thirteen career interceptions, tying him for the most
among active linebackers, and sixty seven career passes defense to
the second most among active linebackers. So what are the
things that he typically does in coverage that stand out
to you that maybe we don't always give him as many.

Speaker 4 (04:23):
Flowers for just as intelligence, I mean, he can run
with anybody, but as intelligence understanding route concepts and beating
everybody to the punch.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
I know, Take Smith had a career high eleven tackles.
Sometimes you don't want guys in the dB position to
be getting as many tackles. But what did you see
from him in this game? He also had a pass
defense first career force fumble. Overall, what stands out well
his tackling.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
What's got him here. He's a very smart, very heady player.
He made He had a bunch of tackles, like to
have two or three plays back, but he had a
bunch of plays and he'll make a bunch of plays
for us all year.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Logan Hall first multi SAT game of his career and
he's actually right now leading the team in sacks. Did
you see this as his best game as a buck
so far?

Speaker 4 (05:04):
As a pass rusher? Not as a player, but as
a pass rusher. He's starting to put it together. He
had five more quarterback hits and his athleticism starting to show,
always getting more confident in that and he's really starting
to see the end product.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
What could that ultimately mean his ceiling is and what
you guys could expect from him moving forward. If he
is able to put that part of his game to
this higher.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
Level, it just gives us an extra guy with Vita
and Kanty already in there. It'll help the outside guys
pushing the pocket more so that quarterback and flush out
and we can get some easier sacks on the outside.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
How about Anthony Nelson also adding another sack? What did
you see from his game and play?

Speaker 4 (05:40):
Nelly does Nelly things. He's always consistent, he's always steady.
He looks slow, but he's not. He's just a technician.
And before you know what, he's at the quarterback and.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
I know Vita also getting another sack. We talked about
what it meant the game before this to have him back.
Did you continue to see him make as big of
an impact this.

Speaker 4 (05:57):
Game, Like where his motor is, like where he is meant,
like the ways.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Playing and then I know the run defense, there were
times that they obviously the Falcons were getting a lot
through the air, but what did you guys see in
terms of what you were able to do to face
As we've talked about one of the better one two
punches in the league at the running back position.

Speaker 4 (06:13):
We were there. I still thought we missed more tackles
than we should have made. We missed more tackles than
we should have. They got out on a couple of
flare passes in a couple of runs where we were
hitting them for a loss and he was getting about
four or five yards. We gotta shure that up.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
I know, you guys held them to six of fourteen
on third down, but they did convert two of three
on fourth down. What did you see specifically on third
and fourth down from the defense, Well.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
They kept be in third and short yard. It's third
and short. It's tough to defend third and three. But
we had chances to make plays and we didn't make them.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Casey Phillips here with head coach Todd Bowles, I know
we scored twenty four points in the first half for
the second straight game, first time we have done that
in consecutive games since twenty nineteen. So what was working
so well offensively in the first half?

Speaker 4 (06:55):
Ball was coming out quick, Baker was making some great rees,
Mike and Chris and everybody was getting involved. Kate was
getting involved or was involved, and he was sharp. He
was very sharp.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
What did you see that slowed down then in the
second half, knowing that it was kind of a tale
of two halves offensively.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
Not converting third downs. You know, we didn't convert third
downs when it was critical and we kept shooting ourselves
in the foot with the flag.

Speaker 2 (07:19):
Baker three touchdown passes in the first half. That is
his most in the first half since twenty twenty, and
at halftime he had as many touchdown passes as incompletions.
That's a pretty incredible stat right there. What did you
see from his game? Overall?

Speaker 4 (07:33):
He's put together two good weeks. I mean, he's locked in,
he's dialed in. Em and Liam have a great relationship.
They understand everything. He's making the right checks and the
ball is really zipping out of his hands.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
And definitely still sometimes he's shown he can use his legs.
I know he ended up finishing with forty two yards rushing.
What did you see from his ability to extend plays
like that?

Speaker 4 (07:52):
Took what they gave him. Everybody had their backs turned.
They were easy runs for him. He got out there
and he did about a twenty something yard sprint right there,
and he like to see that when they give you
that situation.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
And I know we talked about the week before that
very obvious plan to try to get Mike going early
and often, and it looked pretty similar this week of
trying to get him going early finished with sixty two
yards and two touchdowns, got his one hundredth career touchdown
and now has the seventh most multi receiving touchdown games
in the Super Bowl era, which is pretty incredible. So
take us through his game and especially those those couple

(08:24):
of touchdowns.

Speaker 4 (08:25):
When Mike gets going, the team gets going. That's how
we get started fast. He got started this game fast.
We got started fast. And you know, if you don't
double him, you're gonna have a problem with him, and
that showed up early. They didn't double him, and Baker
found him and he made some plays.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
And take us through those those couple of touchdowns, and
especially the one where he's so wide open.

Speaker 4 (08:43):
I'm sure I would love to It was wide open.
I think they had a misreading coverage and he kind
of broke out on the seventh route and they singled
up the nickel and he got out on nickel one
on one. And you know, when you get him one
on one on not, he's not a corner by nature,
and he's gonna make a play every time.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Now a couple weeks in a row with an opening
drive touchdown after not having one for so long, what
is most encouraging to you about this and maybe what
it also says about Liam Cohen knowing those opening drives
are usually the ones that are the most scripted out
of the gate.

Speaker 4 (09:11):
Just getting started fast. Us getting started fast gets us
off to a good start always, and we just got
to keep that up.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Chris Godwin, I mean, outside of the fumble, continues his
consistency finished with team high in yards. He's had at
least five catches and fifty yards in every game this season,
which is the longest streak in the NFL, third most
five catch fifty yard games in the NFL since twenty nineteen.
What does that tell you about what he's able to
do and what that means to an offense like this,

(09:39):
To know you're going to get that kind of consistent production.

Speaker 4 (09:41):
Says a lot about his work ethic, is connection with Baker,
him just constantly finding ways to get open, him running
after the catch. Chris just doing some amazing things right now.
He really looks fresh and healthy out there. He's having
a lot of fun and he's playing with a lot
of purpose.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
One hundred and sixty team rushing yards in a game
since the Germany game in twenty twenty two. Rashad White
ten carries for seventy two yards, new career long fifty
six yard rush. Bucky added nine carries for forty four yards.
What did you see from those two backs?

Speaker 4 (10:12):
In particular, the offensive line did a heck of a
job creating holes for him. They got to get some
tough runs at the end and finish off the game.
But those guys are running hard, They're running more with purpose,
they understand where the holes are, they set up their
blocks a lot better, and then's showing.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
How did you see Bucky handle a fumble like that?
And it was a rookie having a big moment like that,
not go how you want. That's a pretty tough one
to swallow.

Speaker 4 (10:35):
I think it was tough on them over the weekend.
But we talked and he's talked to Lamb, he's talked
to coach Pete, and you know, he is a young guy.
We rely on Bucket to do a lot. He's going
to learn from him, He's going to become a better player.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
How did you see the offensive line in specifically the
run game and their performance.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
They did a good job. I mean, we got one
hundred and sixty yards rushing, so we just got to
continue to keep working at some things back blocks and
some things like that. But I think they're doing a
good job.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
And then how about them in the protection.

Speaker 4 (11:01):
For the most part, they were okay, not a lot
of pressure. I don't think they sent us a lot
of pressure. When they did, we picked it up and
Baker got the ball at so they clicking at the
right time.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
And Kate Atton twenty two yard catch. Does it feel
like he's gotten to be in a good place now
with this offense and Liam's scheme and the way they're
able to use him.

Speaker 4 (11:19):
I think it's still growing. I really think it's still grown.
We're getting them involved, we can get them more involved,
and I think that's gonna happen as the game's go on.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
I know it's tough to be without two of your
main four wide receivers. But then Sterling Shepherd has come
in these last couple of games and really contributed. What
have you seen from his ability to do that? Of
when there are very few teams in this league, it
seems like where your number five guy is gonna come
in and participate like this.

Speaker 4 (11:43):
A lot of energy, a lot of quickness, a lot
of skill, a lot of veteran leadership and he can play.
He can still play. He's another element for us. With
those two guys down, we didn't miss a beat.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
And you're gonna have to cover him and take us
through his touchdown.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
His was easy.

Speaker 4 (11:58):
I mean he was trying to set a pick and
if the pick doesn't isn't there, he runs right to
the corner of the end zone. Baker hit him with
a dart, and you know they had their old college connection.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
Let's look at special teams a little bit here. Thirty
six and a half yards per kickoff return were the
team's fourth most in a game with three or more
returns in franchise history. The average return also stands is
the second most by any NFL team since the start
of the season. So take us through what works a
well on the kick returns. And I know Sean Tucker,
you know, getting a career long kick returns of fifty
three and and thirty three yards and and what you

(12:28):
saw out.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
Of him, Sean did a great job.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
Man.

Speaker 4 (12:30):
He was breaking a lot of tackles. He's a tough runner.
And to get a running back like there of his
caliber that can break tackles and make things happen and
still have the same speed the game some yards. Guys
did a good job up front blocking for the most part,
and they made things happen.

Speaker 2 (12:43):
And then Bucky I know, also had a thirty nine
yard return. What have you seen from him and his
UH Special Teams contributions?

Speaker 4 (12:48):
No different. They're running backs by nature, and it's almost
a running back play the way they got the closeness
of the UH kickoff team right there. So they're just
hitting holes and they're taking advantage of it.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
And then Chase McLaughlin man now has a franchise record
twenty seven straight field goals. He's the first Bucks kicker
with two or more made field goals of fifty plus
yards in a single game since twenty twelve, and now
has the best field goal percentage in NFL history from
fifty plus yards. And of course, these last couple of games,
he's done it with a new holder and still been
just automatic. So what has that meant to the team

(13:18):
and this offense.

Speaker 4 (13:20):
It's been the steady calmness since he's gotten here. I mean,
making kicks, you kind of take it for granted, but
he's making fifty plus yard as he's making them with
these and it's a very calming presence to know you
can get three points almost every time you cross midfield.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
I know the game before this you had talked about
Gil coming in as the punter, that even though his
net average maybe wasn't as high, he'd gotten the hang time.
Let you guys make some of those plays. What did
you see from him for punting and kicking off this game?

Speaker 4 (13:46):
Kicking off, he was great. He was putting the ball
out the back of the end zone. Punting again, he
gave us some hang time and he gave him time
to get down there and we were for some fair catches.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
I know there's a lot of plans you're making this week,
but what are the plans specifically at that position? And
when might you know more.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
At that position? I haven't made any yet, Still might
know more. Jake still getting better and we're still going
with Gill at the moment. We'll see what happens in
practice this week.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
And then Tavi or Thomas blocked field goal out there?
What does he meant to the special teams unit? And
then specifically that play, what did you see?

Speaker 4 (14:16):
I was outstanding. Tavia can come off the edge, he
can make those type of plays for us, and he's
a heck of a kickoff guy. He's been a common
presence on special teams for us since he's gotten here.

Speaker 2 (14:26):
Does a win or loss effect the way you approach
when you do have kind of that mini buy after
a Thursday game? Does that change anything for you about
preparations and how you typically would do things based on
how the game goes.

Speaker 4 (14:38):
No, it was more of a health thing for us.
That kind of takes precedence over how long we're off
and what we have to do going forward, not whether
we want or lose.

Speaker 2 (14:47):
And how do you want to approach things mentally emotionally
kind of two separate parts of this one. Just that
game knowing that it's a tough one. How you want
a team to approach a tough loss when you do
have ten days to kind of sit and think about
it before you get to play another one. But then
now you also have the emotions of this hurricane coming.
What are the things that you're kind of imparting to
the team and wanting them to do from an emotional

(15:07):
and mental standpoint.

Speaker 4 (15:08):
Oh, we should be over the game. I mean three
or four days off, you got to be over that one,
move on to the next one. More importantly is the
hurricane and everybody's family's being safe and everybody in Tampa
being safe, So you got to deal with that part
of it, and yet they're not canceling the game on Sunday.
You got to have a part of it that's mentally
focused on getting that part done so we can play
well on Sunday.

Speaker 2 (15:29):
And how are you guys approaching the schedule of what
you typically would do when you know, for a coaching staff,
when you do get those extra days, how that affects
the way you guys prepare in your schedule. But then
also now with a hurricane being thrown into it, what
are the different ways that you guys have approached this
as coaches.

Speaker 4 (15:44):
Well, we got in here this weekend. A lot of
coaches did some things and took some time off, but
came in and watched some film our corrections as well
as the Saints going forward because they don't play until tonight,
but the Hurricanes wise, we'll try to keep it as
normal as possible when we leave town, just to make
sure everybody's on schedule. So that part hasn't changed for

(16:05):
the coaches, So we're trying to keep that part normal. Obviously,
they got to take care of their families, and we
gotta get all that stuff taken care of. But we're
trying to keep it as streamlined as possible, to keep
it close as to the best as we can.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
And then what do we know or not know at
this point about who could be available for the next
week based on a lot of these injuries.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
We don't know a whole lot at this moment. We
may lose some, so we'll see what the injury report
looks like as the week goes on, but hopefully we
can get some guys back.

Speaker 2 (16:32):
Get a little bit into this Saints game with there
being so much chaos with the hurricane and all of that.
Is it at least helpful You're playing a slightly more
familiar opponent.

Speaker 4 (16:42):
Not really, because they have a new coordinator. You know,
we know the people, but they're always gonna be tough
down there in the Dome. It's always tough because it's
a division game. New coordinator brings different variety of offense
form Camares back to his old self, so it's always
gonna be a dogfight.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, let's talk about new offensive coordinator Clint Kubiak. What
are the things that you know about him and what
he likes to do.

Speaker 4 (17:02):
It's very good. He kind of takes that for the
Shanahan and takes that for his dad. Offensively, does a
lot of play action, a lot of boots, a lot
of throwbacks, a lot of deep shots, but he really
likes to run the football. So we got to be
sharp up front.

Speaker 2 (17:15):
And then, of course, like you mentioned, Dalvin Kamara always
always a fun one to go against. What does he
seem to be doing, especially in this new offense and
this stage in his career. What do you notice about
what's similar different to other times we've seen him.

Speaker 4 (17:27):
He's coming more downhill running the ball. Well, he always
had great balance and great power and great speed, but
he's get there, getting them downhill, They getting the ball
in the hands and space, and he's making things happen.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
And how about how Derek Carr looks now in this
offense having been.

Speaker 4 (17:40):
There a bit, he looks very comfortable. He looks very
comfortable where the short throwers are, deep throws you know where.
He knows where his outlets are and they got a
running game to go with it. So he's been very effective.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
And then Rashid Shaheed, we know this is a guy
that has some speed and ability to make some plays.
What do you notice about him?

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Him and lave both. I mean, they're a threat down
the field. They got a one two punch going down
the field. They can hurt you with screens, they can
hurt you with deep balls, they can hurt you with
the intermediate games. So they're rarely mixing it up pretty good.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
And how about the Saints offensive line? What if they
looked like this year?

Speaker 4 (18:11):
They look definitely looking a lot bigger, a lot bigger.
They're coming off the ball more, they're using their power
and like I said, they got the run game going.
So they're playing well.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
And I know Taysom Hills had some injury issues, what
do we know about if he is able to go
the kind of dynamic that that can throw in.

Speaker 4 (18:26):
They're still using him the same way they used them
in the past. He can play quarterback, he can play tailback,
he can play tight end, he can play wide receiver, roomos,
They're doing a lot of things with him. He's still
back to doing all the things he knows how to do.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
And then what do you notice about their defensive front
at this point?

Speaker 4 (18:41):
Tough, always been tough. They got some edge rushers led
by Cam Jordan up there. They got middle linebackers, and
they got a secondary. They've got a very veteran leadership team.
They got Tiring over there, they got the Mario over there,
they got Cam over there. They're very sharp players, and
they're very heady players.

Speaker 2 (18:58):
And so for you as you go to a proch
this with their being potentially as many or more injuries
as there have been, how much does that change?

Speaker 4 (19:05):
It changes some things, but it doesn't change the base
of what we're trying to do to win the ball game.
That's never been an issue there. We just got to
get those guys acclimated and make sure they're doing the
things they know how to do.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
All right, Well, coach, thank you as always for taking
the time and good luck this week prepping for the
hurricane and the game.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
Coming up next on Buccaneers Total Access, we'll have inside
Linebackers Coach Larry Foot. Brought to you by advent Health.
This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 5 (19:28):
Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by advent Health.

Speaker 3 (19:31):
Shotgun Lookjared goff Bell high Snapp.

Speaker 1 (19:33):
There comes a.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
Pressure Peace sacked in the back Beeld of the thirty
one yard line.

Speaker 1 (19:37):
Levante David shoots like a watchet and got it Bill
high on the cropping.

Speaker 5 (19:41):
Now more with Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips.

Speaker 2 (19:44):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. First half the show,
we had head coach Todd Bowles. Now I am so
excited to be joined by inside linebacker and past game
coordinator coach Larry Foot. Coach Foot, thanks for being.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
With us, Thanks for having you.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
Drew the short draw on a rough game and a
hurricane week, so we do very much appreciate you taking time.
I know everything is just straight up chaos right now,
so we really do appreciate it. We're gonna get into
preparing for this next game and the hurricane and all
that a little later in the show. For now, let's
look back a little bit at that Thursday night game
for you. I mean just looking at especially the passing

(20:16):
game with Kirk Cousins over five hundred yards not really
what you guys are ever hoping for in that area.
So what was really not working well in past defense?
Or what also were they doing really well?

Speaker 6 (20:26):
I thought, first and foremost, I thought we got a
little sloppy with our techniques.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
Guys, was trying to do too much?

Speaker 6 (20:33):
Is a savage quarterback, especially my room, particular those guys.
Kirk played the game with us a little bit pumped,
faking looking somewhere, but he had every intention going back
the other way, kind of caught us out a position
a few times.

Speaker 2 (20:46):
So why is specifically he's so hard to face? Is
it basically that of the veteran side of him at
this point?

Speaker 6 (20:52):
Yeah, I thought his savvagess got us, especially my room.
You know, he was looking us off and had a
nice little plan for us, and nah, we weren't patient,
and you gotta be patient in your zone. He stepped
up a few times and uh he heard us.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
So looking at those last couple drives in particular the
one that send it to overtime and then the drive
in overtime, what stands out about those two drives and
what you guys took away.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
From him being patient?

Speaker 6 (21:15):
We gotta make plays always, Uh, in no situations you
wanna sack the guy. But uh, he made plays, but
most importantly in our zones, we got impatient and.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
He made us play.

Speaker 2 (21:26):
So then now knowing the good news is you get
another shot at them, which I know after a loss
like that is always uh what you want. So biggest
takeaways for the next matchup and pretend especially against guys
like London and Mooney who had pretty big games.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
Oh, we gotta make plays. We gotta adjust.

Speaker 6 (21:40):
You know, gast Bow's gonna come over with a better plan,
Uh this time for them guys, and UH try to
take away what they wanna do. But at the end
of the day, human element gotta kick in.

Speaker 1 (21:51):
We gotta make plays.

Speaker 6 (21:52):
I gotta get my guys ready and uh to stop 'em.

Speaker 2 (21:55):
And I know that you guys had been having Servasier
and kJ split some different reps and stuff, and this
was the first game without Servasier completely after that injury.
How did that change the game plan ahead of time?
And what you guys are are hoping to do and
and and how that will affect things moving forward. Knowing
that it seems like Servassier's injury was was pretty rough.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Uh, next man up. You know kJ was in there,
other dvs was in there. Uh called on a couple
guys to fill his shoes, and UH, next man up, And.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
I know uh for Levante, eight tackles, two passes defense,
Uh had his fourth quarter interception. Big picture takeaways from
him this game?

Speaker 6 (22:34):
Uh, he did a lot of good, did a lot
of bad and uh some some things, a couple of mistackles. Uh,
some stuff that's uncharacteristic of Levante.

Speaker 1 (22:44):
He'll be the first one to tell you that.

Speaker 6 (22:45):
But he did a lot of good with did some
bad and uh he I'm looking for a bounce back
week from him, and uh, him being who he is,
I expect him to come back with a vengeance.

Speaker 1 (22:56):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
Take us through his interception.

Speaker 1 (22:58):
Uh it was nice.

Speaker 6 (22:59):
He left his feet a little bit. Uh should have
kept his feet on the ground, but he did catch it.
Been a few years since he caught an interception, so Uh,
we were geeked up about that in the morning this
morning watching film and happy he caught it.

Speaker 2 (23:14):
And I know we are used to talking about him
in terms of tackles, even force fumbles, things like that,
but he now has thirteen career interceptions, tying him for
the most among active linebackers. Uh, sixty seven career passes defensed,
second most among active linebackers. So take us through his
coverage skills and what you feel like, really is something
about that in particular we don't always talk about as

(23:35):
much with him.

Speaker 1 (23:36):
Well, just starting with his athletic ability, he's quick. Uh.

Speaker 6 (23:40):
He he understands routes and uh, formation recognition far as
what they're gonna do before they do it. And uh,
he's a heady player when it comes to that, and
he's a student. He takes the game serious. He studies
the film and when he comes in, he's ready and
he kind of knows what they what they're doing before
they do it and gives them a big advantage.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
We're talking to insidelnebacker coach Larry Foot. When you heard
that he hit recently the fifteen hundred tackle mark and
joins just Derek Brooks as the only guys in franchise
history to do that. What did that number say to you?
And were you even surprised it was that higher? Were
you like, Yeah, that sounds about right.

Speaker 6 (24:21):
Uh, fifteen hundred, that's a lot, a lot And when
that came up, I was just like wow, And that just.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
Speaks to you.

Speaker 6 (24:26):
Gotta be a pro on the field and off the
field to a cumulate those amount of tackles.

Speaker 1 (24:32):
You gotta really take care of your body. You gotta
be healthy, you gotta be available, and you gotta have.

Speaker 6 (24:39):
A lot of want to to make those type of tackles.
And uh just just speaks the type of.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
Player he is.

Speaker 6 (24:45):
And I don't know how many organizations say they got
two guys that made fifteen hundred tackles, So, uh testament
to the you know, the Buccaneers organization.

Speaker 2 (24:55):
And I know with tackling, we hear a lot about
how now there's not as much of that in terms
of your training camps, your practices. How much are you
really throwing on pads and tackling and that that's one
of the areas that you can see it a struggle or
it takes a bit for people to warm up in
that area. Why is he specifically so good at making tackles?
And what are the ways even you guys as coaches
try to make sure that tackling is sound when you

(25:17):
aren't allowed to actually do it very often.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
Well, you gotta start with the fundamentals.

Speaker 6 (25:21):
You gotta keep your feet, you gotta keep your your
eyes up. I think a lot of the old heads
we always are the tackling is not what it used
to be. It ain't that type of They didn't them
guys didn't play with this type of skill set.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
And you know, just talking about last Thursday, b John Robinson,
he's hard to get down.

Speaker 6 (25:38):
And moony those guys, and it takes a team effort.
You know, you gotta gain tackle, but you gotta be
in good position.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
But just the fundamentals, you.

Speaker 6 (25:48):
Gotta do it down in and down out, keep your
feet and keep your eyes up.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
I also know that. Uh. Another thing Levante does incredibly
well is force fumbles. So he recorded his thirtieth career
one versus the Eagles, tie with Khalil Mack for the
most among all active players and are the most by
any inside linebacker in NFL history since force fumble data
became available. That's wild.

Speaker 6 (26:10):
Stand He's on a lot of lists. Yeah, uh inside linebacker.

Speaker 1 (26:14):
Uh. Hopefully in a couple of years after he retire.
Uh he makes the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yes, uh oh yeah, we're all here to be on
the campaign for and the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
You know, everybody around town, they get mad.

Speaker 6 (26:25):
They call him the most underrated player cause uh he
don't make Pro Bowls, And I I laugh. I mean
it's not funny, but it's just crazy how he gets
overlooked and some of the linebackers they put.

Speaker 1 (26:35):
In front of him is just it's laughable.

Speaker 6 (26:38):
And uh, I get it all the time. You know,
people definitely know the game, especially ex linebackers. They always
laugh at how he's not on these lists, but I'm
glad we got him. And uh hopefully the pundits or
whoever makes the the Hall of Fame selection they look
at these stats and say, hold up, this guy's on
every top defensive stat and uh, just not as an

(26:59):
inside linebacker, just any player. Yeah, uh, any position, And
uh it's incredible.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
What would be your if you got to be in
that room, you get to be the guy that gives
the the talk of of why Levante deserves to be
in What would you say?

Speaker 6 (27:12):
Well, if you look at it, it's not too many linebackers. Uh,
well you arguably he probably the best cover linebacker ever
played the game. You just mentioned the forest fumbles, then
he has the most tackled for loss for any off
the ball linebacker. I mean dad alone, I mean to
play the run, play the pass, and bed of the blitz.
I mean he could do it all on the field
and uh it his weak spot is his hands and

(27:35):
believe or not, and you just mentioned he got thirteen
of 'em, so uh, but he he's uh all around player.
And if once they start looking at it, he'll.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
Be in it.

Speaker 2 (27:46):
You think they'll know you brought up his his blitz
and sacking ability as well. I think Coach Bowles said
on one of our shows, Levonte didn't wanna do that originally,
that he was like not about it, but now apparently
as has come around to the idea. Now it's down
a little bit of others. So tell me about that
of just what gets asked of him in that area
and how he's been able to cultivate that as well.

Speaker 6 (28:07):
Well, just when you know you got to beat the
running back, you know that's our goal. Put put our
linebackers on the running backs and get the quarterback down.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
He enjoys covering. He likes covering. You know, it's unselfishness
a little bit.

Speaker 6 (28:21):
But you know, I know Devin White used to love it,
just letting let me blitz and you cover. But he's
starting to get a little taste of getting his quarterback
down and he's a joint.

Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah. I mean, who doesn't love that feeling. Once you
get a taste of it, that's all it needs. How
about the level he's playing at at his age, I
think that we hear about that a bit, but I
think That's also something that's been a little underappreciated is
how there just hasn't been this drop off that every
I think every year everyone has been thinking like, maybe
this is the year that Levante isn't Levante anymore, and

(28:53):
it just doesn't seem to happen. Tell Us from your
perspective watching him all the time, of how you feel
about where he's at, even compared to previous years and
compared to other people at his position at this age.

Speaker 6 (29:05):
Well, you know, in the football world, you know, you
start getting in early thirties, we call you old. But uh,
if you look at even all other sports, boxing, football, hockey,
if you take care of your body, you can play
a long time.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
You know. Tom Brady just proved that.

Speaker 6 (29:19):
I know he's just a quarterback, but if you take
care of your body, you can play it a long time.
Played with a guy James Ferry, he played fifteen sixteen years.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
Got London Fletcher Junior, say, those guys played eighteen nineteen years.

Speaker 6 (29:31):
So if you take care of your body, you can
be able to play at a high level.

Speaker 1 (29:35):
And he's showing that.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
I know, sometimes we don't like to always do comparisons
of oh, this player reminds me of this player. They're there,
you know, they're their own guy. But you, having coached
and played for so long in this league, I would
love to know. Are there linebackers that come to your
mind that remind you of Levonte? W when you when
you started coaching Levonte and finding out about him. Who
who came to your mind?

Speaker 1 (29:56):
Well?

Speaker 6 (29:56):
One of my favorites in London Fletcher and uh just
all over the places, not that big and uh, just
a playmaker, but Leavonte is unique.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
He's one of own I'm.

Speaker 6 (30:07):
In uh a few that can do all things at
a high level. We mentioned that early far as just
covering the blitz and playing the run. But uh, I
kind of compare him London Fletcher.

Speaker 2 (30:19):
I saw he gave a quote after a game recently.
I forget what play he was talking about, but he
said there was a play he knew he had to
make because otherwise you would have been mad at him
after the game. Tell me about it. You could tell
he was really loving this idea of like I had to,
I had to make foot proud. Tell me about this
relationship that you guys have been able to form at
this point.

Speaker 6 (30:39):
Uh, He's easy to coach. I love, Uh in my room,
the best player.

Speaker 1 (30:44):
It takes the coaching.

Speaker 6 (30:45):
I can get on him just like I get on
the rookie, and he's just you know, yes, sir, keep
it moving, and uh, that's the standard in the room.
So he makes my job a lot easier.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Uh.

Speaker 6 (30:55):
He is the only one in the room could tell
me to back off too. The other ones can't. But
I think it was a play about. I always challenged them, guys,
if you get on the running back, you've got to win.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
That's just that's our advantage. And he beat the guy,
and I think he knocked the ball out.

Speaker 6 (31:11):
And he knows if you lose to the running back,
you gonna hear about.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. We're going to
take a quick break here on Buccaneers Total Access brought
to you by Advent Health. This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 5 (31:22):
You were listening to Buccaneers Total Access with head coach
Todd Bowles and Bucks team reporter Casey Phillips, brought to
you by Advan Health.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. We are here withinsidelnebacker
coach Larry Foote, and of course we're talking about Lalante David.
You know, we hear so much about the x's and
o's and what he's able to do on the field,
but also, of course the leadership side is just as good,
if not even better, which is saying something. What do
you see from him as different young linebackers have come

(31:52):
in the way that he leads, you know, his approach
to it and the impact it has on the locker
room as a whole, and then the position, well.

Speaker 6 (32:00):
It leads by example, he's not a big raw rock guy. Uh,
on Sunday he is, but he's not a big row
rock guy. But he's always he sits up front, he
asks his k uh questions.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
He takes notes and uh, he's always locked in.

Speaker 6 (32:13):
His focus is like off the charts. And he's always
paying attention. I mean if if Bull's talking or another coach,
he's always into the details and always challenge the young guys,
pay attention watch 'em. And uh when he hits in
between the lines and practice, he's serious.

Speaker 1 (32:29):
I know you don't see him too often have bad practices.

Speaker 6 (32:33):
Mm and uh you can see you know the r
the fruit of that on game thing.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
W What do you see from the whole team about
the reverence or understanding they have a We hear that
he's underrated outside in terms of Pro Bowls and things
like that. What do you see is the the way
that the whole team, the whole locker room views Lavonte.

Speaker 6 (32:51):
Well and he talks to everybody listen, and like I said, uh,
he he earned that from his Uh.

Speaker 1 (32:57):
Just the way he plays every day, the way he tap.

Speaker 6 (33:00):
Just in the weight room, in the film sessions and
walk through just walking to practice. He's always ready, He's
always dialed in and people know you can count on.

Speaker 2 (33:10):
And now switch, let's talk a little bit about I
know we mentioned Servasier of before the injury, the role
he was playing. Take us through just what you've seen
out of Levante that made you, guys say, hey, you
know what kJ is doing great in these areas, but
you know, Servassier also has earned a spot to get
on the field and participate in this What had he
been doing in his skill set that made you guys say, yeah,

(33:31):
this is the role we want him to play well.

Speaker 6 (33:33):
Since college when we were studying at the University of
pitt he excels in the past game far as zone coverage,
playing man the man he excels at that and he
gives us advantage. You know, Kj's more of the thumper
type and the Savasse more on the back end third down,
playing zone coverage, and he really was coming on. He

(33:55):
made that a big step far as towards the run
game from year one the year or two. And he's
kind of built like Levante as far as UH instincts,
knowing what's happening before it happens. And it sucks that
he's out, but he's grown. The erro is definitely pointing up.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
And where do you see that potential for him moving forward?
Is is he a guy that you feel like could
end up taking on, you know, bigger and larger roles
moving forward? What is what is his skill set telling
you about these next few years of the linebacker he
could develop into.

Speaker 6 (34:27):
Well, lucky for him, he's playing. You know, he got
the witness Levontae David. So he's taking notes and I'm
always pushing a that's where you want to head towards
h You wanna duplicate everything he's doing. You wanna listen,
you know, listen and pay attention and take notes cause
one day you're gonna be in that.

Speaker 2 (34:47):
UH chair for you looking at when rookies come in
to play inside linebacker, what are the most challenging adjustments
for them going from college to the NFL At that position, we.

Speaker 1 (34:58):
Gotta get the the whodle call. You gotta lead the
other ten guys. You gotta tell them what to do.

Speaker 6 (35:04):
A lot of guys, it don't matter whatever your personality is.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
You gotta echo the call.

Speaker 6 (35:09):
You gotta line guys up, you gotta make checks, and
you are the quarterback of the defense. So it's tough
for some guys who are not used to or are
comfortable with talking.

Speaker 1 (35:18):
You gotta do it or you can't play it. You
know it hurts it. And every linebacker you gotta get ready.

Speaker 6 (35:25):
And when I'm start interviewing these guys at Combine, I'll
give them a call.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
Hey, talk to me. I make them talk. And some
of the guys that's quiet, they gotta come out that shell.

Speaker 2 (35:34):
Interesting. I like that. How about I know someone that
you did not have to do that with is kJ Brett.
I'm gonna guess that guy. Quiet has never been the
thing that has concerned you about kJ. I feel like
all I ever hear from everyone is how much kJ talks.
And yet they don't ever seem really like mad about it,
Like everyone always seems to really enjoy it that he

(35:56):
does it in a way that is either really actually
like inspirational. G it's guy's going or is just kind
of funny. What have you seen of why he has
been able to develop that so early on? I mean
even before he had a starting role, he was really
doing this. So how did he develop this? And what
does that meant to the defense and the team to

(36:16):
have a guy like that that's really getting everyone fired up?

Speaker 1 (36:18):
O kJ. He's a passionate guy. He's an alpha male.
He doesn't back down for any fights.

Speaker 6 (36:25):
Typically in training campus, there's a fight out there, kJ,
probably he's involved. And that's the type of guy he is,
and that's what helps him be a good football player.
He likes to mix it up. He doesn't back down
from the physical standpoint, and that's just his nature.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
You know. He's a cute dog.

Speaker 6 (36:43):
He's a country boy. He kind of got both sides.
Sometimes he's quiet, but when the guys get together, he's
gonna be one of the loudest guys out there.

Speaker 2 (36:50):
I like you, we're talking insidelnebacker coach Larry foot So
tell me what he had done going back to last
year to tell you that he had earned this starting role,
that this was the guy you could trust this year.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
Well it started last year. You know.

Speaker 6 (37:03):
His opportunity came uh with the injury with Devin, and
he seized it. He showed the the league that I
can play at.

Speaker 1 (37:09):
A high level. He had to grow from uh year
one the year just like all of 'em. And Uh
he had to learn the game. He had to learn,
uh the feel of it.

Speaker 6 (37:20):
You know I always called you know, you gotta slow down.
You gotta get the feel of it. Like I mentioned
early pre snap recognition. You gotta know what the offense
is doing it uh to help yourself, Uh be in
a good position. And he he's growing. He's learning also
from Labonte, and Uh I'm proud of so far.

Speaker 2 (37:38):
What are his biggest strengths that you've seen on the
field to this point.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
Oh, he's a dog. Hm, he's a dog.

Speaker 6 (37:43):
He's a country slang with they said ward daddy. He's
a ward daddy, and uh he doesn't back down from
the contact.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
And UH he's gonna find the football. He's gonna get there.

Speaker 6 (37:54):
And in this league, you need a lot of those
guys who wanna get to the football with bad intentions, right.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
What would be maybe the one or two things for
you that if you said, if kJ could develop this
or if he could do this, then this would be
that next level for him.

Speaker 6 (38:08):
If he can catch, if we can learn how to catch.
And I always blame you know, I told his dadd
I blame his daddy. I said, Uh, y'all was out there.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
Hunting and fishing, not playing catch.

Speaker 6 (38:17):
It wasn't playing catch. But uh, I'm working on. I
got the tennis balls out. I'm trying to, you know,
do to pick up where his daddy didn't give 'em,
you know, as far as learning how to catch.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
But no, he come.

Speaker 6 (38:28):
His Daddy's awesome, But uh he can't catch. You gotta
learn how to catch. You gotta learn how to uh
just catch the ball. You know, I blame a lot
of these young guys don't play baseball. I think that
will help, you know. Uh, back in my day, a
lot of us play baseball to help which eye hand coordination.

Speaker 1 (38:42):
But he gotta learn how to catch the football.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
That's so funny. I always love hearing the grief that
all you defensive coaches are given your guys and about
missing these interceptions and stuff. All right, so let's talk
a little bit about JJ Russell, cause as you as
you put it, that next man up, we saw he
was a guy that had to go in there for
a little bit when uh Levonte missed a few plays
and I've so you were, you know, without Servasier. So
what are the biggest things that you see from JJ
Russell that you're you're wanting to work on with him.

Speaker 6 (39:07):
Well, first of all, he's a dog, and uh, every
coach in the league will say, give me a dog,
let me work with him. And he's a free agent
guy that made the fifty three. That just tell you
the focus and the determination that he has. You don't
see that often a free agent guy comes in here
and makes the fifty three. You know, that speaks to
our scouting development, our scout, our scouting department. Bring that

(39:29):
guy that quality of player in here. But uh, he's
a serious guy.

Speaker 1 (39:34):
He's focused, and uh he's a no nonsense.

Speaker 6 (39:36):
You talk to the special team coach, he is serious
every drill, every walkthrough, and uh, just like young guys
kJ and the guys, he got to learn the rhythm
of the game. He gotta get a better feel for
the game, and that comes with time.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
And then I know, there's just been so many injuries
on defense at all different levels of it so far
this season. How has that affected your guys, even if
they weren't the ones that were dealing with the injuries,
but knowing how much the defense as a whole, the communication,
everybody playing off each other, trusting that everybody's gonna where
they're gonna be, how have the injuries affected your position

(40:09):
group and the way you guys have been trying to
approach a game.

Speaker 6 (40:12):
Well, the next man up, you know, starts with Coach Bowles.
That I mean, that's just the standard. We don't blink
as coaches. Even sometimes you know, I take our following
his lead. Sometime when I get that injury report, I'm.

Speaker 1 (40:23):
A little nervous. I'm getting worried, But you just he
doesn't blink.

Speaker 6 (40:28):
Coach Bowles does a great job, and it's the next
man up. We coach the last guy on the practice
squad to the starter.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
It doesn't matter. We expect you guys to make plays,
and we put that in the guys ahead. If you
hear you, you're here for a reason. And I tell
my guys.

Speaker 6 (40:43):
You guys gonna be starting in the Super Bowl, who knows,
So you gotta be ready and when your opportunity comes,
you gotta seize it.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
All Right, We're gonna take one last break here on
Buccaneers Total Access. We'll be right back. Brought to you
by Advent Health. This is Buccaneers Radio.

Speaker 5 (40:57):
Buccaneers Total Access with head coach Todd Bull. Now continues
brought to you by Advan Health.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
Welcome back into Buccaneers Total Access. We are here with
in sidelinebacker coach Larry Foot. You know, right before the break,
we were talking about all the injuries and the way
guys have impacted that one that I think we saw
a pretty big impact he has on the team is
vitavea man. Getting that guy back I'm sure made everybody
happy on the defensive side of the ball. Take us
through how much he changes the dynamic out there.

Speaker 6 (41:24):
Well, every offense they got to account for him. The
blocking scheme, you gotta start with him first. However they're
going to try to attack us, you gotta deal with
number fifty. Of course, helps the linebacker's job tremendously when
he's out there, and I'm glad we got him. But
you got a three four defense, you need a Vitavea,
and we have one and he makes everything go.

Speaker 2 (41:46):
I know there have been a few games we didn't
get the sacks we wanted. A few games seemed like
it exploded a little bit more. What have you noticed
is the difference in the games where we've been able
to get the quarterback down versus not.

Speaker 6 (41:57):
It changes that possession. You know, you got to sack
the quarterback. Were a little down right now. I don't
know we're up to our regular standard, but you know
our goal is always try to shoot for fifty. But
those guys got to ramp it up a little bit.

Speaker 2 (42:09):
I know you also used to coach outside linebackers. Tell
me now looking at Joe Tryon, Schrienka and yah Yad
Yabi would have been the things that you've noticed now
with the two of those guys starting, especially in the
wake of losing a shack bearret both on the field
and from a leadership side, how you've seen guys like
Joe and Yahya step into that spot.

Speaker 1 (42:25):
They're just growing.

Speaker 6 (42:26):
They're growing doing some good things, and not only just
sacking a quarterback, but guys are dropping, They're doing a
great job at that, especially Joe, he excels it that
he has a good feel for that.

Speaker 1 (42:37):
And those guys are anchors and they're coming on.

Speaker 2 (42:41):
I feel like Zion has gotten so much attention of
where you know, Coach Ross, you know, predicted that he'd
be the guy that would take the biggest leap last
year and then to be someone who'd earned the starting
role this year and the confidence of the coaches. What
have you seen of his growth since he came in here?

Speaker 1 (42:56):
Just growing?

Speaker 6 (42:57):
You can tell he's starting to look like one of
the those guys. What I mean by that is one
of those elite corners taking on the challenge and uh,
you just watch the game. He's breaking up balls, getting interceptions.
He dropped one other day, but you know, but.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
Yeah, we never give them grief for that. Never, That's
always the job.

Speaker 6 (43:14):
I feel like he's getting his hands on the ball.
But you can just you know, he smelled a look different.
He just he looking different, and uh, I'm excited to
see where he's going.

Speaker 2 (43:23):
I like that, Uh Christian is he and that guy's
had to be just a little Swiss army knife over
here of Oh you're gonna play it outside Nickel safety
wherever we need to put you. What have you seen
his skill set to be able to do all of
those different things at a level where it's not a
huge you know, liability when when someone goes down, well.

Speaker 1 (43:42):
Speak you know mentioned this earlier.

Speaker 6 (43:43):
We want dogs, and he is a dog and uh,
he's grown just a year or two, even played a
lot of ball for us. Just speaks to the coaches
just getting him prepared to throw him in there anywhere
corner nickels safety and uh, the arrows pointing up. He
just gotta keep growing, just like all the other young guys.

Speaker 2 (44:01):
For Tom Bowles defense, I feel like there's different things
different positions are sort of required to do that may
be a little different than others. For inside linebacker, what
are the biggest things that stand out about what it
means to be an inside linebacker in Bowls system?

Speaker 6 (44:15):
Well, you got to better cover, you got to be flexible,
you got to be able to do it all.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
We play a lot of zones we play, We play a.

Speaker 6 (44:22):
Lot of man and man, so you got to be
always ready to adapt and we challenge those guys a lot.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
And you know, Bose does a great job. He knows
our strengths and our weakness, and he caused the game.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
According that, And I know that now we have just
this really fun hurricane coming here to disrupt all things.
As if as if prepping for a game isn't enough
on its own. Now you guys are going to be
having to evacuate. You're going to go to New Orleans
early on. This is something that has happened to the
Bucks before, of having to change schedules and do things

(44:54):
for a hurricane. For you guys as coaches, how much
does this make this week more challenging for you in
a in a preparation standpoint, both of your prep and
then getting your players ready.

Speaker 6 (45:04):
First, I want to just thank the Glazers. I mean,
last couple of years ago, they flew all our family down,
uh whoever lived in our household, all the pets and
uh they took a lot of mental strain and anxiety
off of us. And uh once again you know fin
flying our families uh to New Orleans, girlfriends now just
even why so uh the pets and all that. But uh,

(45:27):
I I'll just take my head off to them, cause
they they're making our job easier.

Speaker 1 (45:30):
And they don't have to do that.

Speaker 6 (45:32):
Yeah, and uh, especially a lot of us on this team.
You know they can afford, but they they take it
on and do it. And I just thank them guys
for that.

Speaker 2 (45:41):
Ye doing their part absolutely. How do you guys still play?
We're talking insidelnebacker coach Larry Foot. How does this change
the schedule in terms of how you guys try to
meet practice prepare I know that you know NFL players
and coaches or creatures of habit and they you guys
get thrown off a bit. It can be tough trying
to figure out how you want to do things. What
does it look like for you guys now this week

(46:03):
with this new schedule and plan and how you try
to get ready cause games happening, hurricane or not, so
no excuses.

Speaker 1 (46:09):
We gotta get it done.

Speaker 6 (46:11):
It's a little adjustment, but nothing to to it. We
just gotta, you know, play it by ear, but no excuses.
We'll be ready to Sunday.

Speaker 2 (46:20):
And what are the I guess sort of mental and
emotional sides of your job as a coach of how
much do you feel like in times like this it
isn't just about the ex's and o's, but also trying
to be there for the guys.

Speaker 6 (46:31):
Uh, just you know, trying to support people. Uh it's
tough when you live in Tampa. I live in South Tampa,
so it's it's a mess down there.

Speaker 1 (46:39):
And my heart goes out to uh everybody down there.

Speaker 6 (46:42):
A lot of uh friends and you know, my kids,
Uh some of their coaches, lost everything, my neighbors, and.

Speaker 1 (46:50):
Uh it's a tough time right now.

Speaker 6 (46:51):
But uh, you know, God is still in control, and uh,
you know we're gonna.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
Get through this.

Speaker 2 (46:56):
Saints have a new offensive coordinator, Clint Kubiak. So as
much as I would like to say that, oh at
least uh on a weird hurricane week, it's a team
you're a little more familiar with in your division. Uh,
whenever there's a new coordinator, that's not necessarily always the case.
So what have you seen so far of what he's
brought to this team and and how that might change
what we've seen from a Saints' offense with other coordinators.

Speaker 6 (47:16):
Definitely a little different, uh from the previous years. It's
week six, it's not week one or week two. So
we got a good idea. Uh what they wanna do.
We know the weapons, who w who we gotta try
to stop and limit.

Speaker 1 (47:29):
But they's still the Saints. It's still physical.

Speaker 6 (47:31):
They pu uh play our brand of football, and uh,
it's gonna be a challenge. And they you know, just
like every team weekend and week out. They got a
lot of weapons.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
Yeah, so tell us through a little bit. Uh Uh.
Derek Carr will start there. What does it like to
face him and what he brings specifically.

Speaker 1 (47:45):
A savvy, savvy vett. He's a fighter.

Speaker 6 (47:48):
Uh, kind of got that little demeanor, kind of like
our quarterback Baker. They just tough, hard nose, played a
lot of ball, had a lot of success in this
league and it's gonna be a challenge to stop 'em.

Speaker 2 (47:58):
And then Alvin Kamara, I mean that guy forever. I'm
sure Bucks fans are very tired of hearing his name
at this point. You know, you face a Bjon Robinson
this last week. Where does Kamara stand and rank across
the league? And just in terms of tough matchups, especially
for your position group.

Speaker 6 (48:13):
See, he has that same wiggle and quickness like Vijan,
but he got a little more pop.

Speaker 1 (48:18):
He got a little more pop. Uh.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
Tough, but these the technical football terms, by the way,
wiggle pop, I really I imagine this is what's on
your board.

Speaker 6 (48:24):
I like it well when I say wiggle, you know
he can make you miss, and he can make you
miss in a phone booth and Kamara he packs a
punch and guys who played him say, wow, he's small
and statue, but you know he runs like a big man.
And it's gonna be a big challenge and just like
every good running back, it's gonna be a collective, uh
to get him down.

Speaker 2 (48:43):
We're talking to insideline backer coach Larry Foote. Rashid Shahed
and Chris Olave have also both come on and recent
years shown that they are some pretty serious weapons. What
stands out about facing the two of them?

Speaker 6 (48:53):
Speed speed, speed, kills h and it's hard to coach.
That just not gonna be on our dv's. We're gonna
have to get his quarterback down. Uh, get him off
his spot cause uh, those guys can run.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
I know we're recording this a little early because of
all the storm stuff, so we don't have a ton
of injury information. I know Taysom Hill has been has
has been in and out a little bit these last
few weeks for them. But if he is able to go,
what is the the dynamic of that how much that
can change? Just having a player that you don't always
know even what position they're gonna play. What is that
like for you guys making your defensive calls and plans.

Speaker 6 (49:26):
Well, we definitely gotta know when he's on the field,
cause you can be a quarterback, full back, tight end,
wide receiver, running back and uh, he's definitely, uh a
weapon that we gotta account for.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
And how about the Saints' offensive line? What have you
seen from them this year?

Speaker 6 (49:41):
They're tough, They're dogs they I mean that since I
got here in this division. Those guys are tough, hard
nos And uh, maybe it's the town, it's the organization,
but those guys are tough and it's gonna be a fight.

Speaker 2 (49:52):
I know. We always hear about the noise of playing
down there in that dome, especially for the offensive side
of things as they're trying to make their calls at
the line all that, But does it affect you guys
on the defensive side as well?

Speaker 1 (50:03):
No, it's quiet.

Speaker 6 (50:04):
So you know, home games is a little rough because
our crowd is trying to rattle the offense. But on
the road, I prefer personally to be on the roads
because I can hear and talk.

Speaker 2 (50:14):
And communicate, and so it's actually a little bit easier
for you guys. I like that. What would you say,
are the goals you have for your position group for
this game in particular, and then also for the rest
of the season, what are the things that you would
like to see happen?

Speaker 1 (50:26):
Well, you gotta start with Kamara. You want to limit him.

Speaker 6 (50:29):
You gonna you can't have a big game that starts
with us up front, and that's our goal every week.
We got to try to make the offense one dimensional,
take away to run. But we gotta limit those matchups
when I when I say matchups tight ends and running backs.

Speaker 1 (50:44):
We got to do a good job and limit those guys.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
Yeah, and then now for the rest of this season,
are there certain stats or numbers of things that you
always like for your guys to strive for, retain or
things that by the end of the season you'd want
to be able to.

Speaker 1 (50:55):
Say, Well, Levonte already got all.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
The stats, right, what are we even trying for here?

Speaker 1 (51:00):
We're just trying to get w's.

Speaker 2 (51:02):
I like that. I like that having ten days off,
but they're being a hurricane. How much do you feel
like you're still able to get guys the rest that
a Thursday night game is supposed to give you on
the back end. You know, how much is that a
factor for you guys? And how you're you know, approaching
this week and with the players, is focusing on the
actual body part as compared to just the the prep
for the next game.

Speaker 6 (51:22):
Well, we always considered a mini buy, so I expect
their legs to be fresh and ready to go.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
What is your favorite thing about being a position coach
in particular where you have these for you especially just
three guys that you really get to hone in on
and spend a lot of time with. What's the best
part of that?

Speaker 6 (51:37):
Uh, just the relationship you know off the field, guy
blessed me with a being able to.

Speaker 1 (51:42):
Coach, So it's gonna go beyond the football.

Speaker 6 (51:45):
You know, they gonna get the experience that I picked
up in this league, but off the field, just the relationship.
And I look forward to seeing those guys grow as men,
being invited to the weddings and you know, the birth
of their first child or or third, it doesn't matter,
And just just that relationship with those guys.

Speaker 2 (52:04):
And how do you feel like having played for so
long at such a high level has affected the way
you coach. That there's coaches here that maybe played in
high school, maybe played in college, that to have played
at the level you did. How do you think that
changes your approach?

Speaker 6 (52:17):
Well, I still I suffer from a lot of former coaches.
I think I never missed a tackle. I think I
never made a bad play. That's how I coached those guys.

Speaker 2 (52:26):
That sounds fun for them. Well, coach, thank you so
much for taking the time to be with us. I
really appreciate it, and good luck the rest of this week,
both in life and in football. Thank you all right,
Thanks to you guys for joining us. This has been
Buccaneers Total Access, brought to you by Iven Health. This
is Buccaneers Radio.