If you didn’t catch Thursday Night Football, you would have missed quite an interesting ending. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were leading the Atlanta Falcons and then let it all slip through their fingers. They were up by 14 points in the fourth quarter, then managed to squander it away.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles had quite the postgame speech where he called out the players:
“It’s inexcusable. We don’t make excuses. You’ve gotta f***ing care enough where this s*** hurts. You’ve gotta f***ing care enough where this s*** hurts. It’s gotta f***ing mean something to you. It’s more than a job, it’s your f***ing livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You cant sugarcoat that s***, it was inex-f***ing-cusable, and there’s no f***ing answer for it. No excuse for it. That’s what you tell ‘em in the locker room. Look in the f***ing mirror.”
Of course, it’s always better to see it:
This sounds familiar. This sounds like one of those postgame rants that would have been at home on a Coors Light commercial if they were still doing those. As a San Francisco 49ers fan, it also reminds me of this postgame gem.
Does this get into the NFL pantheon of greatest postgame quotes ever, like “Playoffs?” or “They are who we thought they were?” Maybe. A coach calling out his whole team for not caring enough is definitely something. Singletary’s rant was about one player, tight end Vernon Davis.
The difference is twofold:
First, many cite this press conference as the turning point in Davis’ transformation into one of the better tight ends in the league. From seemingly out of nowhere, Davis developed into a ridiculous weapon for both Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick during the Harbaugh years, and this rant was what lit a fire under him.
Second, this was when Singletary was the interim head coach of the 49ers after Mike Nolan was fired midseason. Bowles’ speech is happening when many wonder if he has lost the locker room and possibly his job after the 2025 NFL season comes to an end.
This is another reason we can ask all the Kyle Shanahan critics, “Do you really want to go back to this?”
I sure don’t.
It’s also something to point to when you know there are actual issues for a franchise. The 49ers are injured beyond belief and still winning. The Buccaneers fell apart up 28-14 in the fourth quarter against the Falcons.
The difference is obvious.
About the Author: Insidethe49
