Robby Anderson and Todd Bowles did not always see eye to eye during their time together with the Jets, but that did not stop Anderson from praising his former head coach ahead of Super Bowl LV.
Anderson took to Twitter early Thursday morning to share his thoughts on the Buccaneers’ run to the Super Bowl. Anderson not only acknowledged Tom Brady’s role in leading Tampa Bay to its first NFC title since 2002, but also the elite level Bowles’ defense has performed at throughout the postseason.
“All credit to Brady,” Anderson tweeted. “But please make sure y’all don’t forget to give Todd Bowles his credit for the level he has that defense playing at.”
Bowles’ defense has stepped up big-time throughout the playoffs after an up-and-down regular season, spearheading a divisional-round win over the Saints by picking off Drew Brees three times and limiting a dynamic Aaron Rodgers-led Packers offense in the NFC title game. Slowing down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will be no easy task, but Bowles has his defense playing its best football of the season at the right time.
Anderson spent the first three seasons of his NFL career playing for Bowles. The Temple product gave him plenty of headaches throughout those years, as Anderson encountered multiple run-ins with the law and openly campaigned for a Pro Bowl nod in the middle of a game in 2017 — an act Bowles did not appreciate in the slightest.
“That’s not smart football,” Bowles said after the incident. “We don’t want selfish players on this team doing selfish things.”
Now the two are NFC South rivals, but it’s clear the former Jets wideout has respect for his ex-head coach stemming from their days in the Big Apple.