Desperation Play
October 5th, 2016
New DE?
General manager Jason Licht handed defensive ends Noah Spence, Robert Ayers, Jacquies Smith and sackless George Johnson over to Dirk Koetter back in training camp.
None were available midway at halftime Sunday.
The Bucs are aching so badly at defensive end that undrafted rookies Channing Ward and DaVonte Lambert are taking snaps in real games.
And lost in the shuffle of the seal-clubbing by the Broncos was a new defensive end stepping up to rush the passer. Except this guy isn’t a defensive end; he’s Tampa Bay’s elder statesman: 34-year-old starting strongside linebacker Daryl Smith.
“Yeah, Daryl’s done that before in his career,” Koetter told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “You know, we were, in some of our subpackages, we were short edge rushers. So Daryl jumped in there and put his hand in the dirt and rushed off the edge a couple of times.”
“Overall, Daryl played a solid game. And, again that’s a place where his experience in [Mike Smith’s] defense paid off.”
This is how desperate it’s gotten for the Bucs at DE.
There’s no real blame game here, other than bad luck.
For those wondering, Michael “Ghost” Johnson has zero tackles for a loss and half a sack this season with the Bengals.
October 5th, 2016 at 9:57 am
I suspect Ayers will be used primarily at DE when he returns…..hopefully Spence’s injury isn’t serious.
October 5th, 2016 at 9:58 am
Insane
October 5th, 2016 at 10:26 am
Correct me if I’m wrong but I saw Lavonte playing a little DE/3-4 OLB this past Sunday. If pass rushing is truly in the dire straits we see it is, his ability to shed blocks coupled with speed makes him a not too shabby replacement for Smith/Ayers/Spence/the ghost of Howard Jones. Esp with Kwon’s ascension to biggest playmaker at LB
October 5th, 2016 at 10:30 am
Dakota Watson was always ok to put his hand in the dirt on passin down here and there. Maybe they should look him up lol
October 5th, 2016 at 10:33 am
Not a bad idea about Watson if he wasn’t on the team that just rolled in here and whooped our behind this past Sunday
October 5th, 2016 at 11:34 am
why make him put his hand in the dirt?….what happened to the 34 look mike smith was suppose to use?….why not just blitz him from his lb position…you know something the offense might not expect….an outside lb blitzing off the edge….maybe dirk and smith are waiting until after the bye week to start game planning, becoming unpredictable, sticking to the run game and generating some pressure….GO BUCS!!!!
October 5th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
@Canadian bucsfan
He plays for the Broncos now!
October 5th, 2016 at 4:41 pm
LVD is a good blitzing linebacker, but if he lined up at DE he would get smothered by the OT. His greatest asset as a blitzer is the element of surprise, then quickness to avoid the unprepared blocker. LVD is a man, but he is a small dude when it comes to DE body types.