Bucs Will Roll With No-Name Rush
May 2nd, 2015
George Johnson, T.J. Fatinikun, Larry English, Lawrence Sidbury — it’s the Bucs’ fearsome foursome at right defensive end.
No, the Bucs haven’t drafted an edge rusher.
It’s official, barring a shocking summer move, the Bucs will roll with that cast to strike fear on the blind side of NFC South quarterbacks.
Last year, Lovie Smith invested mega dollars at RDE with ghastly, ghostly Michael Johnson. This year? The Bucs invested little after cutting Johnson.
George Johnson has six career sacks. Fatinikun is a young guy who flashed a little last year. English is an historic Chargers first-round bust. Sidbury is a six-year veteran with five total sacks.
Lovie is happy to say his defense requires that edge rush. That’s why he paid Michael Johnson, and Julius Peppers in Chicago in 2010, and coughed up a second-round pick for Gaines Adams in 2009. But the new chatter from One Buc Palace is the Bucs are banking more on their inside rush this season.
Teams aren’t built in one draft. It’s probably going to take another draft — and offseason — until the Bucs defense is scary good.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:01 pm
duh
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Yep, only so many premium picks. Hopefully one or more of these guys steps up big and we can go in to next year’s draft without any huge needs.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Lovie Smith with only 1 defensive pick in 2 drafts!! Must be killing him!
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:04 pm
We’ve pretty much wasted GMCs best years without giving him any help outside. Another year of being doubled constantly because he’s the only pass rush threat. No pass rush with a mediocre secondary is a recipe to get torched again.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Dirk will make our defense better because our offense will sustain drives. Our defense actually played well towards the end of last year considering we had no offense to speak of. Mike Evans and Vincent jackson should receive some type of award for finishing with 1000 yards a piece.
You’ll don’t understand how impressive that was with the qb situation, o-line, and lack of creativity from the off. Coordinator
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:24 pm
Bucitrightoff- I disagree. Sapp didn’t peak until his 6th and 7th year of play?
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:27 pm
99 was his best season. Before Simeon was there.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:37 pm
You said it Joe… You can’t build a team with one draft… All in all I am fairly pleased with this draft class… Its possible we picked up six starters… Six if you consider kick returner a starting job which I do…
I think Marpet was a bit risky considering he played Div. 3 last year and moving up to get him was a head scratcher because AJ Cann was still on the board at the time and he started four years at an SEC team… Not Hobart College…
Other then that I have no complaints…
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:43 pm
There was no way to fix the entire defense in one draft. Not enough picks. So going offense mostly was the way to get us to compete sooner…maybe mid season on offense.
Panthers are going to be a huge problem still though.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:48 pm
Lyndon Trail, DE, should’ve taken a flyer on him
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:48 pm
If Lovie shows progress and Jameis and the offense show good signs, Lovie will get his all-defense draft next year.
Very disappointed they didn’t go after Trent Cole or some other guy in FA though. Unless they had planned on drafting Gregory before Dallas plucked him off the board, they are totally confident in going into this season with not a single proven starter on the edge.
May 2nd, 2015 at 5:51 pm
You gotta wonder how bad that ’13 draft hurt us not having a first round pick. Maybe we would have taken that CB from AL, but maybe they take a DL instead. Still better than nothing
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Yeah pretty sorry. At least picked up George Johnson. Hard to believe so bad though. Im pointing finger at Michael Bennett Daquan bowers fiasco. Also drafting simms 3rd rd questionable too. Rome wasn’t built in a day
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:09 pm
Yeah, that P.O.S Dom wasted so many of our drafts.
Not gonna recover from that in two drafts.
We got our QB. Looks like the offense is set to grow into something fierce.
Next year- we let Lovie build his defense. Should have high picks. First year QBs tend to have growing pains.
Second wave of free agency is coming. Always an older DE- can only play on passing downs- but can still heat up QBs.
We can plug holes for one more year on defense
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:17 pm
Feels good, to finally feel like the team has a plan- and is following it.
It gives me hope
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:18 pm
If Lovie sticks around a 3rd season, next draft will be all defense.
May 2nd, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Not a popular topic here but we should pick up DE Michael Sam on the cheap
May 2nd, 2015 at 7:15 pm
edge rushers are overrated
we can get some 32 years old off the post draft waiver wire….
May 2nd, 2015 at 7:59 pm
Michael SAMs had no skill. It was strictly a media buildup because he was gay
May 2nd, 2015 at 8:07 pm
they have signed 2 DE post draft FA’s…….BucNation has about 8 names posted
May 2nd, 2015 at 8:08 pm
I wouldn’t bring him up if I thought he had no skill. Check out his highlight reel on YouTube it’s pretty damn impressive. Also he did great in preseason for the Rams but they were loaded. Loaded we ain’t.
May 2nd, 2015 at 10:12 pm
I still maintain we should have kept Clayborn and moved him back to RDE which was his natural position. What’s done is done.
I noticed Atlanta wasted a pick on the Clemson player whose knock on him was he takes plays off. He also plays RDE. So is Atlanta planning on cutting Clayborn before he even gets a chance to start. Seemed like a strange move. The guy is also undersized.
May 2nd, 2015 at 10:18 pm
I still maintain we should have kept Clayborn and moved him back to RDE which was his natural position. What’s done is done.
I noticed Atlanta wasted a pick on the Clemson player whose knock on him was he takes plays off. He also plays RDE. So is Atlanta planning on cutting Clayborn before he even gets a chance to start. Seemed like a strange move. The guy is also undersized.
Not to many edge rushers can be found after the first round, let alone second. Michael Bennet and the problem child that signed with the Cowboys in FA are the only ones I can think of.