Lauding The Bucs Defense
October 18th, 2012
Anyone who follows prickly Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com on Twitter knows that Prisco rarely if every throws out a compliment.
So color Joe a bit stunned when he learned that Prisco, a senior NFL writer for CBS, was waxing poetic about the Bucs defense, if one can imagine, in a recent piece for his employer.
10. The Tampa Bay linebackers played horrible football in 2011. That’s not the case anymore. With the addition of rookie Lavonte David on the outside, and the improvement of Mason Foster in the middle, the Bucs have the speed now to run down plays. They looked especially fast last week against the Chiefs and Jamaal Charles. David had a really nice play against Charles when he run-blitzed and dropped him for a 5-yard loss. It was that kind of play that really showed off David’s speed. David was one of my favorite guys coming out of the draft last year and he’s playing as well as I expected. Throw in rookie safety Mark Barron and third-year defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who is having his best season, and the Bucs have some nice pieces. It’s too bad end Adrian Clayborn is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Yeah, it is too bad Clayborn is out. He could have been part of something very special.
The work the Bucs have done with their linebackers is just about staggering to Joe. Just how brutal were Bucs linebackers last year? They weren’t just bad; they were pathetic.
Now, the Bucs linebacker corps is easily among the top tier of the NFL and Joe really believes Mason Foster will be eating pineapple come February.
Just an amazing job by Bucs front seven coach Bryan Cox. Joe has a hunch others in the NFL are taking notice as well.
October 18th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
@TBass, the news you were “breaking” here was already reported 15 minutes prior right here.–Joe
October 18th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
Improvement has been night & day. Amazing what a little coaching can do. Have to throw out props to LB coach Fraser as well. He and Cox both have definitely helped these guys develop.
October 18th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Joe,
Glad you included that reference to the outstanding linebacker play lately. You should go meet and observe Bob Fraser. He is the one who directly coaches the linebackers.
B
Joe has met Bob Fraser, actually had a nice sitdown with him. Here’s the link to that story. https://www.joebucsfan.com/?p=69790 –Joe
October 18th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
Speaking of pro bowl, I know it’s still very early, but we have a fairly long list of guys that are pro bowl possibilities if they continue at this pace: Mike Williams, Carl Nicks, Vincent Jackson, Mason Foster, Lavonte David, Mark Barron, GMC, and Connor Barth all deserve serious consideration. Even Ronde may have a chance if he keeps making big plays. What a difference a year makes, and what a difference a coach makes.
October 18th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Calm down. We’re 5 games in.
October 18th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
@Vic,
I know, but 5 games into last season the list was about 1 player long, and it was our punter. Even getting 3 players in this year would be a huge improvement. But you are absolutely right, there’s a long way to go.
October 18th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Joe I got to say, I am going to love what our defense looks like when Ahmad Black starts at FS whenever Ronde is done. He is a ballhawk who can also play in the box throwing his body around. Him and Barron could be a deadly combo back there, what do you think?
October 18th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
I see the future and it is bright on defense. An emrging stud or two at each level: McCoy & Clayborn, Foster & David, Barron.
I just hope the offense starts flowing and it all starts with Freeman being more comfortable and decisive.
October 18th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
The Bucs were 4 and 2 this time last year not 4-2. They were playing pretty well til the injuries exposed their lack of depth in key positions.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:56 pm
@Stanglassman,
I realize that, but at the same time no player really stood out as a pro bowl type player this time last year. If you disagre, I challenge you to let me know who was playing at a Pro Bowl level. And also, I also forgot to mention Donald Penn as another potential Pro Bowler on this year’s team.
October 19th, 2012 at 12:43 am
I think you are right on the money, Hawaiian Buc.
Could you imagine if they successfully replaced our other LB? Wow…we could end up with the best LB unit in the nfl in a few years…or less.
In the next draft I would love to see a CB, LB, DE, LT & G.
And I would love to get a better backup QB at some point.
October 19th, 2012 at 8:48 am
Pete, Black is playing well this year, I do not see a need to replace him. He seems to thrive under the new defense, why do you want to replace him now? He is finally living up to his potential.