“Pass Rush, Pass Rush”
July 25th, 2013
Joe senses Bucs fans are geeked for the season to start, and not because they are suffering from wagering withdrawal symptoms or are fantasy league addicts or just plain football junkies.
No, there is something in the air and it’s not just the scent from the perfume of curvy Rachel Watson. It’s the smell of pending victory (no, not napalm). With a revamped secondary, a healthy offensive line and Pro Bowlers sprinkled throughout the roster, there is real reason for Bucs fans to be excited after a lost decade of frustration.
But hold up! The great eye-RAH! Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune admits the Bucs are an improved team but is still troubled by a lack of a pass rush, so he told “The Fabulous Sports Babe” on WHFS-FM 98.7.
“There are still a couple of areas of concern. To me, [Josh] Freeman is obvious. Pass rush, pass rush. [Darrelle] Revis helps a lot. Revis is the best. He’s the best at what he does. Nobody disputes that and I think he’s going to be healthy.
“The pass rush to me, they are going on faith a little bit with [Da’Quan] Bowers. [Adrian] Clayborn is good but he’s not Simeon Rice. [Gerald] McCoy had five sacks and a Pro Bowl season. The nose tackle is a negligible factor in the pass rush. And they don’t blitz a lot, at least not effectively. Every year we say [the Bucs need a] pass rush and they get 25 sacks. It’s not good enough. Will Revis help that? Yeah, he will help a little bit. But Johnthan Banks is unproven. As bad as that secondary was last year, they need more than Darrelle Revis.”
Joe knows this is a little water under the bridge, but even though Bucs sack leader Michael Bennett was damaged goods, for the cheap price of retaining him another year and all the space on the salary cap, why not take a chance he could fight through injuries again and provide 10 sacks?
Joe knows Bowers would have been a top-five pick had he not had a bum knee at the time of his draft, but Joe agrees with Kaufman that the team is putting a lot of eggs in Bowers’ basket. While talented, he struggles to stay healthy and hasn’t exactly made people forget Reggie White yet.
Joe likes Bowers a lot. So too do Bucs coaches. But can he provide double-digit sacks this season? The key to the Bucs’ defense may very well fall at his feet.
July 25th, 2013 at 7:30 am
Just like any good pass rush it’s usually the secondary that is the key. Unless you have slugs rushing the passer, the extra time this secondary will give can only benefit the pass rush.
July 25th, 2013 at 7:35 am
I think bringing in John Abraham for depth would be the perfect solution at DE. The problem being that Abraham refuses to be a backup. Still if he were offered a 3 yr deal he might consider it.
Richard Seymour might be good depth at DT for a year.
Other than trades, the pickings are slim.
July 25th, 2013 at 7:38 am
Last year I saw a lot of times where the rush was almost there. The Giant game really stands out. Hopefully with the improvements the bucs can get there
July 25th, 2013 at 7:45 am
@BuccaneerBonzi
We will likely have to play against Abraham vs. Arizona…..I think he is as good as gone. I agree, it would have been nice to have some extra help.
I also agree that an improved secondary will help our pass rush. When the QB sees an open receiver right away…the pass rush won’t succeed.
July 25th, 2013 at 8:13 am
Joe, how many more of the Raven’s defensive line went to the Pro Bowl than ours? When will people start to look on how they play together?
Why is the new buzz word ” a Bucs kind of guy”? Maybe because they want everyone on the same page.
So let us see what we have in a DL hell in a team before all the doom slayers come out.
July 25th, 2013 at 8:49 am
So, explain to me how the Jets had the #1 pass defense with just 30 sacks if sacks are so important???? Hmmmm? I’m waiting……
July 25th, 2013 at 9:14 am
@Bobby
Answer: Revis! That’s the only factor that was consistent during his time there. When he is shutting down Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Brandon Marshall. It makes it easy to get a pass rush, plus he causes QB’s to just throw the ball away. Last year he basically shut down Dez Bryant, one of the top up and coming receivers right now. The only guy on the schedule that I worry about is Calvin Johnson.
I say Bowers gets around 12 sacks this season and Clayborn gets around 8-9. With GMC pushing up the middle those guys had free run at the QB off the edge. I just hope they learn how to stunt better or just stop doing it, because it help stop the run but it gave QBs all day to pass.
July 25th, 2013 at 10:15 am
“[Adrian] Clayborn is good but he’s not Simeon Rice. ”
If Clayborn stays healthy he is a Simeon Rice in the making.
July 25th, 2013 at 10:19 am
@Sneedy16…okay explain to me how come Bucs fans have to have defense explained to them? lol
July 25th, 2013 at 11:30 am
@Buc1987
Don’t know. lol
July 25th, 2013 at 11:39 am
@sneedy….well, yes and no. Revis was out for most of the year. The answer is good DB’s. They give the QB no where to throw so although there may not be a ton of sacks, all you need to do is pressure the QB and make him throw the ball before he wants to or into tight coverage. More incompletions and it forces them to run more. We will see the benifits of good DB’s this year. It will make our D line look much better if we can just apply pressure. Don’ t have to get a ton of sacks…good coverage will take care of the rest if pressure is there.
July 25th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
Gotta love sacks… they’re exciting, fun to watch and put the opposing offense in a bad down/distance scenario. But what I think people forget about is pressure. Not necessarily sacks, but forcing the QB to throw before the WR is “open”. It allows the DBs to make plays. On the rare occasions we saw that last year. Ronde in the season opener, Leonard Johnson in his first 3 starts, even Eric Wright against the Giants. It works. The longer you can keep the receivers “covered”, the more pressure you can get. Just like a DB can’t cover a receiver forever, an OL can’t keep a DL out of the QBs face forever either. Improved coverage should allow our DL a split second more to get the hand in the QBs face, force the throw. We have 3 guys (at least) that can get that pressure in Bowers, Clayborn and GMC. They just need a little better coverage to get there. Even Teo-Nesheim got there a couple times last year. We don’t know what we have in Gholston either. I think we’re fine on the DL, so long as our DBs hold up.