Bucs Don’t Need Edge Rush
August 24th, 2015
Former Bucs DT Booger McFarland, star of SEC Network and SiriusXM NFL Radio, dispelled a years-long narrative by the Bucs.
So many people from One Buc Palace cry to the sky how the team needs an edge rush to enable All-Pro defensive tackle Gerald McCoy to jostle, mock and rob opposing quarterbacks each and every play.
Joe hears this so much he wants to toss his breakfast in the front yard of his neighbor’s house that flies a Redskins flag daily.
Joe understands GMC is double- and triple-teamed on most plays. So just by simple arithmetic, someone, anyone, should be able to get loose on the defensive front. For reasons unknown, this has not happened. For friggin’ years!
Well, former Bucs defensive tackle Booger McFarland punctured the balloon that the Bucs need an edge rush in a very public manner, while co-hosting with Zig Fracassi broadcasting last week from One Buc Palace heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
In an interview with Lovie Smith, Booger said past Tampa Bay teams proved that a team can develop a pass rush with lesser players on the edge.
Booger McFarland: You know coach, people talk about your defensive ends. And I remember when I was here with you, we didn’t have a dominant end but we had a guy inside like No. 99 who made everybody better. Do you see this team being the same way because you don’t have to have dominant ends to have a great pass rush? As long as you have a guy inside that can get vertical, everything else will fall around him.
Lovie Smith: Yes, that’s true ,and we do have a dominant player but we had more than that. We had Booger McFarland, too. We feel like we have good [players] inside, like Clinton McDonald. But our ends, though, need to take advantage of that, knowing that teams are honing in on Gerald McCoy. And we need to be able to win the one-on-ones. We think we will be able to do that whether it be Jack [Jacquies] Smith — of course Jack’s out right now – but we are expecting big things from him. T.J. Fatinikun really came along. George Johnson has been everything I thought he would be. You know it starts with our four-man front and we need to be able to get pressure with them.
Uh, oh. There goes those excuses for the ends, huh? Yes, Joe remembers how Sapp made immortals from the likes of Marcus Jones and Chidi-Chidi-Bang-Bang.
How much of a slap in the face is it for the Bucs not to find a decent edge rusher to record 10 sacks? The Bucs haven’t done that since Simeon Rice left in 2005, and as Tampa Tribune humorist Martin Fennelly points out, every team in the NFL has had at least one double-digit sackman since 2005.
Every team — except the Bucs.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:14 am
I always laugh when people claim GMC is double and triple teamed on every play. It’s just not possible. That would leave at least one player on the line UNBLOCKED!!! I’d be more inclined to say he’s occasionally double blocked but never triple teamed.
It just shows how badly this team schemes if one player gets so much attention and the staff can’t design plays to free up otherst
to make a play
August 24th, 2015 at 9:15 am
Sad. In todays pass happy game it is an absolute joke that none of these guys can reach that 10 sack point. An offense that can score some points would certainly help put opposing offensive play callers at a disadvantage. GMC is not Sapp so someone else needs to step up their game.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:18 am
Joe has to know that is “coach speak”. He can’t come out and say hid DE’s are sub par pass rushers. Yes he is leaving himself wide open for criticism again but he will be here regardless through next year.
Folks, keep in mind late cuts, trades, etc prior to the start of the season. I stlll think they win 6 games this year which will buy Lovie another year
August 24th, 2015 at 9:33 am
Glad Booger sees the truth in McCoy. I never understood the McCoy apologists out there. If he is so good, he should be making other people around him good as well. I’ve been saying this for years. But yet every game, he disappears with the rest of the ghostly D line. He may get a garbage time sack every now and then but never when it counts.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:40 am
We need edge rushers………period!
This is proof Lovie has lost his damn mind!!!!!!!!
August 24th, 2015 at 9:42 am
@ JMN
You are 100% correct Sir
August 24th, 2015 at 9:43 am
@Tony & JMN
Finally, someone besides DB sees the same as I do.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:44 am
…..McCoy will get hurt again and he’ll be out most of the season…as usual
McCoy knows he robbed the Bucs with his new contract
August 24th, 2015 at 9:46 am
LOL, Booger talking about how he saw that this kind of pass rush worked back in 2000 and prior!!!!! The league was mainly a 5 and 7 step drop offenses then!!!
Just another Tampa 2 sheep!!!!!! Can’t wait to hear the excuses next year why this defense is still not working!!!
August 24th, 2015 at 9:52 am
I can’t help it so I’ll continue stating the cowboys had a league low 28 sacks last season. Not to mention I don’t even know the names of the Pats DEs from last season. But you all know how things worked out for those squads. 10 sacks my a$$,give me 50 pressures and I’ll be happy. To hell with those glorified tackles for lost.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:54 am
Has anyone from the Seahawks had ten sacks the last two seasons? I’m an inquiring mind I would like to know.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:56 am
Booger is smoking crack if he did not think Simeon was a dominant edge pass rusher. That dude was a beast! I have not looked up the stats but I would bet that during the superbowl year that he was every bit as disruptive as SAP was. To play great you have to have great players all over the field. Think of that old defense and compare it against what we have today and its clear why we were 2-14 ….. Linch, SAP, Brooks, Simeon, Barber! All on the field at the same time! What can you say about our current group? GMC and LVD are the only real established players that stand out at their positions. All others are average at best. Then we have to rely on backups like M. Jenkins and L. Johnson who are too slow to cover the other teams receivers. We are still a work in progress. Hopefully after this year we can add a few more names to the great player list.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:57 am
When Sapp played next to Rice, he was dominant and a perennial pro bowler. Without Rice and next to Booger, he ended up playing in Oakland.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:58 am
But you know who has had a bunch sacks,the chiefs and Texans. But where the hell are they come playoff time.
August 24th, 2015 at 9:58 am
The bucs could not close the deal in free agency.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:02 am
Dreambig compare last year’s defense to those guys first year in the same scheme along with the record. That’s a more sensible comparison bro.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:03 am
Ask Booger where Simeon Rice fit in the scheme of things! He should be in the HOF beside 99
August 24th, 2015 at 10:03 am
@Tampa Tony,
How is it impossible. There are 5 offensive linemen, correct? That doesn’t count tight ends. We rush 4, correct? I’m no math major, but it sure as hell seems to me that it would leave one guy to be doubled. But go ahead with with your belief otherwise. The triple team is obviously more rare, but it can happen if they leave a TE on the end (which by the way happened against Minnesota on a play. Randolph absolutely man-handled our DE on a couple plays).
August 24th, 2015 at 10:04 am
Rice will never be in the HOF
He wasn’t consistent enough
August 24th, 2015 at 10:04 am
This team is about to wreak havoc on the nfl this yr. This is the team that many thought they would see last yr. And I mean people like Steve White and Herm Edwards.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:08 am
Steve White and Herm Edwards?????
Really??????
August 24th, 2015 at 10:16 am
What is consistent enough? A sack every play? Rice made Sapp what he was ,like it or not.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:16 am
I hear you Nole. Thats why I said we are a work in progress. We may be starting to build that kind of defense but we don’t have all the pieces yet.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:39 am
Warren Sapp was Defensive player of the year in 1999, before Rice was a Buc.
August 24th, 2015 at 10:59 am
@Bucs anthem
Rice won’t be in the HOF because he wasn’t consistent enuff? Have you recently suffered a stroke or something? You think Mr. gimme sack Strahan was “consistent?”
August 24th, 2015 at 11:06 am
OMGAWD….stop all this talk about Rice making Sapp who he was.
Are you people on crack? Or you do you just have a piss poor memory? Seriously look up Sapp’s stats before Rice came to Tampa. I don’t even know why I have to tell people to do that, but apparently I do. Shaking my head over and over again in disgust…
I can’t even wrap my head around such thoughts. You fans that believe that, must also believe Gruden took Dungy’s team to the SB. Simeon was an awesome DE that was added to an already awesome DL. Just a missing piece to the puzzle. In fact I think he was one of two to ingredients this team was missing. Gruden being the other.
Where the hell do you people come from? How is it you can’t remember the history of this team and how things went down, so you have to rewrite it?
August 24th, 2015 at 11:22 am
Rice was an excellent pass rusher throughout his career. His problem is that much of his career was on an absolutely awful Arizona team. The hall of fame voters act like that time didn’t count, and say he had a few good years on a dominant defence. The man had 16.5 sacks and 5 ff one year in Az, and almost half his total sacks there. But some average dude who plays his career in Dallas or Pittsburgh has a much better shot at the HOF.
August 24th, 2015 at 11:29 am
@ Destro44
You perfectly said it
August 24th, 2015 at 11:34 am
@Buc1987 Says:
Right on the money. These people DON”T know what there talking about.
August 24th, 2015 at 11:34 am
Rice was a great DE, but Sapp was a great DT long before Rice even arrived in Tampa.
There’s a reason why NFL scouts are always scouring the country for “the next Warren Sapp” and Simeon Rice has nothing to do with it.
August 24th, 2015 at 11:40 am
Top 5 Rushers (1997-2002)
(1997) Allowed 263 points (16.4/g), 2nd.
• 99 Warren Sapp* 25 RDT – 10.5
• 72 Chidi Ahanotu 27 LDE – 10.0
• 77 Brad Culpepper 28 LDT – 8.5
• 91 Regan Upshaw 22 RDE – 7.5
• 97 Tyoka Jackson 26 LDE – 2.5
(1998) Allowed 295 points (18.4/g), 5th.
• 73 Brad Culpepper 29 LDT – 9.0
• 99 Warren Sapp* 26 RDT – 7.0
• 91 Regan Upshaw 23 RDE – 7.0
• 20 Ronde Barber 23 RCB – 3.0
• 97 Tyoka Jackson 27 LDE – 3.0
(1999) Allowed 235 points (14.7/g), 3rd.
• 99 Warren Sapp*+ 27 RDT -12.5
• 78 Marcus Jones 26 RDE – 7.0
• 72 Chidi Ahanotu 29 LDE – 6.5
• 77 Brad Culpepper 30 LDT – 6.0
• 55 Derrick Brooks*+ 26 WLB – 2.0
(2000) Allowed 269 points (16.8/g), 7th.
• 99 Warren Sapp*+ 28 RDT -16.5
• 78 Marcus Jones 27 RDE -13.0
• 92 A.McFarland 23 LDT – 6.5
• 20 Ronde Barber 25 RCB – 5.5
• 72 Chidi Ahanotu 30 LDE – 3.5
(2001) Allowed 280 points (17.5/g), 8th
• 97 Simeon Rice 27 LDE – 11.0
• 99 Warren Sapp*+ 29 RDT – 6.0
• 94 Steve White 28 LDE – 5.0
• 92 A. McFarland 24 LDT – 3.5
• 78 Marcus Jones 28 RDE – 3.0
“wait for ittttt…. wait for ittttt” …
(2002) Allowed 196 points (12.2/g), 1st.!!!!
• 97 Simeon Rice*+ 28 LDE – 15.5
• 99 Warren Sapp*+ 30 LDT – 7.5
• 96 Ellis Wyms 23 RDT – 5.5
• 94 Greg Spires 28 RDE – 3.5
• 20 Ronde Barber 27 RCB – 3.0
August 24th, 2015 at 11:41 am
We coming tho Dreambig.
August 24th, 2015 at 11:43 am
I don’t put GMC in the same level as Sapp at all. Sapp could take over a game on defense, and absolutely strike fear into the hearts of an OC.
GMC is very, very good. But he’s only truly dominated a small handful of games. I’m glad the Bucs have him – but he isn’t as good as the man who set the standard.
August 24th, 2015 at 11:49 am
Booger was a Bust – Tony Dungy, tried to duplicate the success – He had in Minnesota – With the Great Henry Thomas & John Randle
SMH – Never happen though
August 24th, 2015 at 11:50 am
It’s a bad premise Booger is forwarding here – and Lovie is basically refuting that you don’t need talent at DE to get a good pass rush in his response.
We will be selecting the best DE that our draft position will allow in the 1st round of next year’s draft. That would seem to be a near certainty as there is basically no way that 2 premier edge rushers will emerge from the group we have now. One DE emerging is a reasonable bet – and I would put my $ on Jack Smith – but we need premier talent at DE for this defense to be great. No ifs, ands or buts.
Licht and his staff have got 8 months to figure out where that premier DE talent will come from. With a good bit of $ to spend next year and the likelihood of a top 15 draft pick being pretty high – they should be able to find the right way to seriously upgrade the talent level and find us some edge rushers.
In the meantime – we have to work with what we have and squeeze as much production as possible out of the talent on hand. Cullen is a very good DLine coach so the least that can be expected is that the players we have now are getting good instruction.
Like it or not – we will all have to continue to have patience while Licht keeps building the talent level of the sub-par team he inherited that was mismanaged and plagued by horrible drafting for the previous 10 years.
August 24th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Interestingly enough, the 10 sack season Sapp had in Oakland he had Derrick Burgess as his DE who had 27 sacks in two seasons. He had 11 the year Sapp had 10.
August 24th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Bucs Don’t Need Edge Rush??????
Well, we’ve been going this route four or five years now. How has it been working out for us?…….NADA!
August 24th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Buc1987
TOTALLY AGREE!!!
August 24th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Unfortunately the little blurb from boogers interview above leaves out a few important parts. If you heard his conversation on the radio, it would have made more sense. He didn’t dis Rice at all. He was just stating that “Prior to Simeon” the defensive line was still good because 99 made the others better when they learned how to play off of him (him included). He said there were no dominant ends UNTIL Rice arrived.
Joe it would be helpful to maybe include a sound bite of the interview before some of the posters get their panties in a wad.
BTW IMO that GMC does not do to the line around him like Sapp did. I feel he makes highlight reel plays early in the game, which gets the commentators going. But he seems to disappear later in the game.
August 24th, 2015 at 12:28 pm
My error – the interview I heard was on Ronnie & Tkras this morning. He explained the same thing but clearly stated how the defensive was still good prior to the arrival of a dominant end (Rice) because of Sapp. Also, that they were great with Rice, but still good prior to.
IN any case, the interview I heard made a lot more sense…
August 24th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
s.rice was a beast in arz..to say he only started to shine once he became a buc is a slap in the face..as far as gruden taking tonys team to the big one sapp said it best,” when tony came in, the bucs were like a dirty kitchen..he came in cleaned the kitchen up, and began to bake a cake..once the timer went off,he was able to get the cake out of the oven and placed it on a beautiful table..all gruden did was put the icing on the cake..that said happy for the years tony gave us as well as the years gruden gave us…GO BUCS!!!
August 24th, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Sim Rice had 50 plus sacks in five years Az and 6 years for Bucs had 70 plus
August 24th, 2015 at 2:04 pm
I knew the stats would back me up Sapp was a great player. But it took the edge rush of Rice to win a Title.
August 24th, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Sapp and Rice were both great players with or without each other. Neither one “made” the other.
August 24th, 2015 at 3:52 pm
How can so many clueless posters find their way to one site?? Amazing. It’s like the whole NFL thinks GMC is the premier DT at his scheme and you know better than the players and coaches. Wow! Sometimes it’s better to just have people think you’re an idiot than make posts like above and prove it.