Maybe The Offense Clicks?
November 12th, 2014
Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett’s charges are pretty vanilla, notes the Washington Post.
Bucs fans should start embracing that, at 1-8, Tampa Bay is a horrible football team. If not for an accident, the Bucs could be winless and in the NFL basement.
What we all thought would be strengths before the season are weaknesses. Hell, there is no such thing as a strength when at team is 1-8, it’s only what element of the team sucks least?
During the past three weeks, Joe wrote how the defensive line could take advantage of an opponent’s weak offensive line. Never happened. Why? Joe learned the hard way: The Bucs have no pass rush.
So maybe it is time for the offense to get a break? In studying the Redskins from top to bottom during the bye week, Mike Jones of the Washington Post has determined that the Redskins defense is, well, lame. He explains while answering a reader’s question about the Redskins defense.
Just had a thought about the Skins defense today. I keep hearing from TV analyst that our defensive scheme changes from week to week. Is this why our defense is so inconsistent? Guys have gone through OTAs, training camp, nine games and the defense has no identity that they can “hang their hat on.”
– Greg Williams
I don’t think you’re totally off on this. It’s definitely important for a defense to have versatility so they can exploit the weaknesses of the opponent. But, a great defense definitely has an identity, or calling card. If you think of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense, you think, “Aggressive front, big, physical defensive backs.” If you think of the Steelers or the Ravens defenses of years past, you thought about the tone-setting linebackers, dominant pass rushers and ball-hawking safeties.
Meanwhile, you come to the Redskins defense and what do you think? They’re kind of a 3-4, then use 4-3 fronts half the time, and they have okay linebackers, but they’re inconsistent, and their safeties aren’t impact players. Is this because of ability? Or because the players aren’t given a chance to define themselves? I had a conversation with LaVar Arrington just last week about the problem with the defense, and he said he believes that a big problem is they don’t really have an identity. We’ve seen what this unit is capable of being: An aggressive bunch that gets after the quarterback with a lot of exotic blitzes and linebackers moving all over the place, safeties joining in and bringing pressure … But they don’t do it enough for that to be considered their identity.
Arrington suspected that the Redskins scaled back on the rush against Minnesota out of fear of Teddy Bridgewater’s scrambling ability. We don’t really know for sure because Jim Haslett wasn’t made available to reporters in the two days after the game, before the bye. But Arrington believes that the Redskins would be better off going ultra-aggressive all the time and living with the fact that they could open themselves up to the risk of getting torched here and there. At least they would know what they do well consistently. I see his point, and it’s right in the same neighborhood of your question. They need something to hang their hat on. If that means a lot of all-out blitzes and cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage, then so be it. They definitely haven’t had much success dropping guys back in zone coverage and relying on the three- or four-man front to get pressure on its own.
So, since Bucs quarterback Josh McCown was the leading rusher last week, might the Bucs try to trick the Redskins into thinking McCown will use his legs more thus the Redskins may pull back their blitzes? It is an interesting chess game.
From reading Jones’ description of the Redskins defense, it appears they don’t really excel at anything.
Then again, the Bucs don’t excel at anything offensively, either, having been outscored 210-92 in the first three quarters of games this season.
November 12th, 2014 at 11:47 am
Then again, the Bucs don’t excel at anything period
___________________________________________________________
Fixed that for you.
November 12th, 2014 at 11:50 am
The Bucs have the same problem on defense. No identity.
No character either, just passive and soft.
Teams have been using three step, drops, seam routes and play action against us all season. Yet we have no answer stopping this.
Defensive guru?
November 12th, 2014 at 11:54 am
This is the same article you wrote about ATL oline last week. Didn’t matter last week and it won’t matter this week. FSU could beat the bucs.
November 12th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
The problem with the defense has nothing to do with the DL. How is it the line’s fault when the QB can get rid of the ball in 2 seconds on average. They aren’t superhuman. They would essentially have to be unblocked to get there that quick.
The problem is with the back 7…Particularly the MLB and safeties. They have to cover better and force the QB to hold the ball a little longer.
November 12th, 2014 at 12:16 pm
Then again, the New Browns don’t excel at anything period
_______________________________________________
@bucrightoff fixed that for you 🙂
November 12th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Fun with numbers.
I just did some quick math and found out that the Bucs are averaging 18.6 points a game and giving up 30.2. Both of those numbers are terrible. But then I subracted the two blow out losses (Falcons and Ravens) and re-averaged and saw that the team (in other games) is averaging 19.4 points per game and giving up 22.9. Far more acceptable numbers.
By comparison, through 9 games, last season’s team averaged 16.2 points per game and gave up 23.2. Subracting their two worst blowouts, that team averaged 18.6 points and gave up 22.1. Amazingly, when subtracting the two worst games, each team had a point +/- of -3.5. Neither team could win close games. For the season, however, the 2014 have only lost two games by 18 or more while the 2013 squad finished with five. Even more interesting, each team only got outscored by 18 or more twice in the first nine games.
Anyways, statistically speaking, this club is very similar to last season’s club in many ways.
November 12th, 2014 at 12:25 pm
BFFL Says:
November 12th, 2014 at 12:11 pm
The problem with the defense has nothing to do with the DL. How is it the line’s fault when the QB can get rid of the ball in 2 seconds on average. They aren’t superhuman. They would essentially have to be unblocked to get there that quick.
The problem is with the back 7…Particularly the MLB and safeties. They have to cover better and force the QB to hold the ball a little longer.
—————–
This is true, but it is a two pronged attack. The DL has to get better pressure and the DBs and LBs surely have to do a better job of forcing the QB to hold onto the ball. We’ve failed at both aspects.
November 12th, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Joe,
Please address the issue with the fake adobe update popup on your site (link to popup: http://easyplayerfixapp.be) Obviously, if flash is out of date, it’s going to take you to the adobe website, not a website in the Belgian domain. Please don’t expose your readers to whatever that is.
November 12th, 2014 at 12:58 pm
We can’t exploit anything. Maybe next year?
November 12th, 2014 at 1:04 pm
The offense has some receivers and some runners but it has not plan or method of attack and gets lost in trying to hike the ball. On almost every play we are under four seconds before the ball is snapped, this bad. If it takes this long to get and deliver a play, it is not going to work because of the time used.
It doesn’t matter on point average, right now we are winning 11% of our games, next week we will drop to 10% but we are dropping slower so some progress is being made because the week before we dropped 1.5%, this week only one per cent.
November 12th, 2014 at 1:05 pm
Brandon’s knees have to be in constant pain from constantly being on them to bob on Lovie’s nuts. The Bucs will go 1-15 and he’ll still be licking them dry. Gotta be Jason Licht right?
November 12th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
#1 pick here we come. Go Jags. Go Raiders.
November 12th, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Normally I’d take the opportunity to bash the Redskins secondary because Rah is “coaching” them, but I’m too apathetic to bother. Sad fact is Rah’s secondary is probably playing better than the 2014 Bucs secondary…that hurts a little
November 12th, 2014 at 5:25 pm
“DB55 Says:
November 12th, 2014 at 11:54 am
This is the same article you wrote about ATL oline last week. Didn’t matter last week and it won’t matter this week. FSU could beat the bucs.”
____________________________________
I believe you transposed the letters, you likely meant: USF could beat the Bucs.
November 12th, 2014 at 5:34 pm
We will make the Redskins look like world beaters. I wish the Raiders were on our schedule so we could lock up the #1 pick. I think the Jags will pick up a win somewhere.
November 12th, 2014 at 6:32 pm
@Lovie
We are exactly what our record says we are
November 13th, 2014 at 4:01 am
rayjay1122 said:
We will make the Redskins look like world beaters. I wish the Raiders were on our schedule so we could lock up the #1 pick. I think the Jags will pick up a win somewhere.
The Jags get the Titans at home later this season, there is their 2nd win. The Raiders? Heck they do get the Rams, perhaps they can upset those clowns as the Bucs should have beat them….. But Tampa Bay, yeah its impossible to see any game this team can honestly be expected to win…… Its frustrating as hell as L&L sold us fans all this BS about being competitive; at least back in the Culverhouse days we fans knew that the ownership had absolutely no commitment to winning, kind of like how the Rays were under Vince Naomoli (as a point of reference for those who did not have to suffer through the Creamsicle ’80s and early ’90s until Mr C punched his ticket because they are too young or recently moved to the area)….. Sux either way but the Glazers have not put a winning team on the field since Chuckies’ last days as coach, right now a 9 win team would be a nice product to go see, not the garbage the Bucs have assembled this year!