More Blitzes On The Way?
September 17th, 2014
Much needed help last week from Bucs DE Will Gholston.
Two things that irk Bucs coach Lovie Smith these days: virtually no pass rush and no takeaways. He discusses one of the two subjects with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club just about daily; often both.
Takeaways can be waved off as luck. A ballcarrier has to be careless with the football. A quarterback has to throw a bad pass. A receiver had to run a rotten route. Rushing the quarterback, though, is a matter of skill and ability.
As most Bucs fans know, the team is beat up physically. Joe blames this on the Bucs playing two big boy bully football teams to start the season and, bluntly, the Bucs are not to those two teams’ levels quite yet. Four of the starting front seven players are down, though defensive end Michael Johnson (who?) may return to the starting lineup tomorrow night.
The injuries have already hurt a struggling pass rush, and Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier discussed how that has hurt the team, and maybe cost the Bucs a win last Sunday.
“We had a crucial third-and-9 at the end of the game we kept debating can we rush with four or do we have to bring pressure,” Frazier said. “We made the decision to bring pressure and one step away from maybe making a play. You have to make that decision as the game is going on. If you find you aren’t able to get that pressure with four, especially with the injuries that we have, you have to figure out other ways to try to do it. No matter which quarterback it is, they’re NFL quarterbacks, and if you give them time, it becomes seven-on-seven for them. That’s tough. You are conscious of what it does to our secondary. It puts them in peril’s way at times. You have to try to have some type of mix as well.”
Given how Lovie all but demands pressure on the quarterback, and due to a combination of both injuries and inability, might Lovie be blitzing more?
A lone bright spot was defensive lineman Will Gholston, who is not yet 100 percent, making his season debut against the Lambs. He bagged this rare species known as a “sack.” Joe has always been high on the Michigan State product and Lovie seems to be smitten by him as well.
Already Gholston has done more in one game that a first round pick has done since 2012 and a big-moneyed free agent has done this season.
To hear more of Frazier, click the red arrow below. Audio courtesy of Joe’s friends at WDAE-AM 620.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:04 pm
I still like the like the Lovie hire, BUT he better make the offense ‘accountable’ as well in both on the field play and the play calling.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Let’s not forget Soloman who has also outplayed MJ w a forced fumble last week. Both back up DEs have done more than the starters.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
I kno this is off topic. but if we get a top 5 pick, i dont wanna take Winston. Too many character issues.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Eh, blitzing works better when you have a good secondary to cover things up. Seeing as this secondary appears pretty weak, not sure how much blitzing helps.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:37 pm
Takeaways shouldn’t be about luck. We should TAKE THE BALL AWAY.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:43 pm
@DB55 That ‘forced’ fumble was about the luckiest thing I ever saw. I don’t think I ever saw someone get kicked by a guy laying on the ground fumble before. Weird but we needed it.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:51 pm
Agree that Gholston and Solomon have outplayed every other DE this season.
September 17th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
I think Lovers should call Schiano and ask him about those stunts that he did last year they worked better then this year defense
September 17th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
Love *
September 17th, 2014 at 12:53 pm
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at ATLANTA FALCONS on Thursday night
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
(Tampa Bay did not conduct a practice on Monday. The Monday practice report is an estimation.)
Practice Report
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
Monday LB Mason Foster (shoulder), DT Gerald McCoy (hand), CB Rashaan Melvin (ankle), TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (ankle)
Tuesday LB Mason Foster (shoulder), DT Gerald McCoy (hand), CB Rashaan Melvin (ankle), TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (ankle)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday C Evan Dietrich-Smith (back), DE William Gholston (shoulder), DE Michael Johnson (ankle), G Logan Mankins (knee), RB Doug Martin (knee)
Tuesday C Evan Dietrich-Smith (back), DE William Gholston (shoulder), DE Michael Johnson (ankle), G Logan Mankins (knee), RB Doug Martin (knee)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday DT Da’Quan Bowers (abdomen), T Demar Dotson (hamstring), S Bradley McDougald (knee)
Tuesday DT Da’Quan Bowers (abdomen), T Demar Dotson (hamstring), S Bradley McDougald (knee)
ATLANTA FALCONS
Practice Report
DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN PRACTICE
Monday WR Roddy White (hamstring)
Tuesday WR Roddy White (hamstring)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Monday WR Julio Jones (ankle), T Jake Matthews (ankle), LB Prince Shembo (knee)
FULL PARTICIPATION IN PRACTICE
Tuesday WR Julio Jones (ankle), T Jake Matthews (ankle), LB Prince Shembo (knee)
September 17th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
As a Bucs fan since the expansion and an owner of the Bucs D/ST in my fantasy football league I can say that I am frustrated with the lack of pass rush and turnovers as well
September 17th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
DT Da’Quan Bowers (abdomen)
Does he have a tummy ache?
September 17th, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Skyline that what you get when you mess around with the FL sun.
September 17th, 2014 at 1:21 pm
Hopefully he is sick of the way the D-Line is playing.
September 17th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
They’ll be running stunts and blitzing too much just like Schiano did. That’s all you can do when your defensive ends suck ass.
September 17th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
I like Gholston and he seems to have promise. Which we saw last year. The big question is why didn’t Lovie see the talent? Why did he start the season on the bench? Is Lovie as bad as he seems at evaluating talent?
September 17th, 2014 at 2:14 pm
They can’t blitz all of the time, or they will pay. Using it sparingly to keep them off balance will be key and then the front 4 players stepping up the pressure as much as possible, plus some good play by the back 4 will slow them down enough to enable a possible win. So more blitzes yes, a lot more no. This is a game that due to injuries the ball will have to bounce in the Bucs favor.
September 17th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
When you must blitz to get pressure you’ve already lost. They’ll be easy pickings until that isn’t the case anymore. It’s that simple.
September 17th, 2014 at 3:02 pm
Let’s see, blitz the inexperienced QBs…….get burned…
Blitz an experienced QB, ie Matt Ryan…..geez, isn’t that a great idea?
Seriously?
September 17th, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Don’t worry to much about Winiston. Once that girl he allegedly raped and her attorney finish taking him to the cleaners via civil court, he won’t have much money to do anything except go to McDonald’s where, hopefully, he won’t try to help himself to any free coke.
September 17th, 2014 at 5:03 pm
Lovie talks and even coaches like the offense’s only responsibility is to give the defense a breather and not turn the ball over. He talks how the defense has to score, but never say how the offense should score. It really seems that he doesn’t get todays NFL where ALL rules are tilted toward the OFFENSE. Defense has become much more difficult while offense has been given every advantage.
IMO, we will NEVER find success with this methodology in todays NFL, and by success, I mean Super Bowl.
September 18th, 2014 at 1:16 am
Mark Barron needs to move in to the box the center of the field has been wide open… they are playing the safeties so far back any team can run slants all day on our d