Spinning The Wheel At Defensive End
May 18th, 2015
Listening to Buccaneers defensive line coach Joe Cullen chat today, Joe felt like there was a roulette game going on.
When it comes to who will play defensive end and where, the Bucs are playing musical chairs right now.
First, Cullen was asked about 6 1/2-sack man Jacquies Smith, the guy who says he’s looking at 10 sacks in 2015. Cullen revealed the Bucs are looking at Smith at right end right now.
“You know, you look at body type, he probably fits that a little better. But he played well on the left last year. We’re trying to look at him on that side,” Cullen said.
“Sometimes you put your best pass rusher on the left on the weaker tackle, the bigger tackle, the more physical tackle and sometimes I’ve had better success putting the power guy over there on the guy that’s a little lighter and a better athlete.”
A “work in progress,” Cullen called it. Not surprising in May.
Cullen was talking up the versatility of newcomer $3 million man George Johnson, and he was all pumped up by versatility T.J. Fatinikun, aka “Fat” and Larry English. Cullen agreed with the notion that “Fat” is the No. 4 defensive end right now.
William Gholston was pegged as the lone defensive end who can play inside, a critical role. The Bucs always have one defensive lineman available on Sundays who can play inside and out. Henry Melton would be the other name guy on the roster that plays end and tackle.
Speaking later, Leslie Frazier reference Lawrence Sidbury, who the team picked up in December and likes very much.
Team Lovie is going to need to do a heck of a coaching/decision-making job this season at defensive end.
May 18th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
Just get to the QB! FUK everything else!
May 18th, 2015 at 1:17 pm
as it does happen every so often in the NFL I want to see a no name guy come out of nowhere and like Michael Bennett who Is a big name now but was an undrafted free agent. this is where we need some luck in hopes we have a diamond in the rough
May 18th, 2015 at 2:21 pm
There’s no question that sacks are important. But realistically the Bucs as a team only average 2-3 per game over the regular season.
Compare that to the 59-67 defensive plays per game that the Bucs have averaged over the past 10 years. They average maybe 1 sack every 25-30 plays or so?
QB knockdowns/pressures and Tackles for Loss to me would seem like a better gage of how well the DLine is applying pressure.
Our DEs may not be household names and may not end up getting huge numbers of sacks this year, but if their play helps keep the opponents contained and off-balance … and we start winning … I’ll be ecstatic.
May 18th, 2015 at 8:25 pm
Agree completely Dick. Sacks are great but so are tips and hurries.
May 19th, 2015 at 7:13 am
I would love to see us use Wright as a lone safety put out a 4-4 defensive alignment to better serve our depth on the line and with the linebackers.
May 19th, 2015 at 10:35 am
idk how it’s possible but our DE group is even worse than last year & the DBs are the same. This defense is gonna get shredded & the lone bright spots will be McCoy & the speedy LBs making some splash plays.
May 20th, 2015 at 12:10 am
Don’t agree about our Defense being no better than last year. Adding Melton is huge for our rotation on the Defensive Line and we now have Carter at MLB who can cover the middle seam passes with his experience and speed. We also have improved our depth with experienced players who know Lovie’s system so we can play at a high level from day one. This is a top ten defense!