Bucs No. 22
July 16th, 2017
Geeks frown upon him
Some very interesting data from the nerd kings.
Even though Joe would think twice about wiping his rear end with the offensive line grades of the PFF tribe — they are liable to flare up Joe’s hemorrhoids — Joe does try to keep an open mind when it comes to the tribe. They do some interesting things like tracking broken tackles, missed tackles, targets… things that well-trained orangutans can jot down.
So recently, the tribe decided to rank the defensive front sevens of each team and despite having the likes of Gerald McCoy, Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David, the PFF tribe lists the Bucs in the bottom half of the NFL at No. 22.
DT Gerald McCoy may be one of the game’s best interior defenders and DE Robert Ayers had the fifth most QB pressures among 4-3 defensive ends along the right side of the D-line last year. The Bucs also brought in former Redskins DI Chris Baker to draw attention away from McCoy. If LBs Kwon Alexander (22 missed tackles) and Lavonte David (13 missed tackles) can cut down the missed tackles, this front seven unit could certainly rise from 22 next season.
Two things jump out at Joe. One, Joe had no clue Mr. Beasting, Robert Ayers, had so many quarterback pressures (allegedly). Mind you, Ayers missed four games last year with a badly sprained ankle. This certainly raised an eyebrow with Joe.
The other thing was Alexander’s high total of missed tackles. This invites an immediate question: How many of those missed tackles were before the bye when the Bucs, to a man, say that their communication was all screwed up?
The defense played far differently (read: so much better) after the bye when it resolved its communication issues.
July 16th, 2017 at 9:03 am
Let them sleep on us! All it is going to do is fire up guys like Kwon and that is not what the opponents want! I can’t wait til this season starts we are almost there fellas!!!
July 16th, 2017 at 9:35 am
This defense is REALLY going to shock a lot of people this season. Honestly we all knew Jameis was boom or bust coming out of college, nobody has any idea what his touchdown to turnover ratio will be this year. He’s had an alarming amount of fumble losses as well as interceptions. I see so much Brett Farve in him, it’s crazy. I usually start my day with that scramble that he did VS the Bears, it’s plays like that, that really show how determined the kid is. Anyway, you can pencil this defense as a top 10, possibly top 5 depending on health. I predict that 3 players will hit double digit sacks. Mike Smith is about to let it rip on QBs this year. No more Mr. Nice Guys.
July 16th, 2017 at 9:42 am
Joe, why do you do this to yourself? Just say no to PFF.
July 16th, 2017 at 9:56 am
Blah blah blah
July 16th, 2017 at 10:24 am
It seems to me in order to miss a tackle you have to attempt to make a tackle….perhaps Kwon had many more opportunities because he put himself close to the ball carrier more than others. Where is that stat?
July 16th, 2017 at 10:39 am
No. 22 front seven eh?
That sounds awfully low to me. At least 3 of those 7 are pro bowl caliber players (GMC, LD54, Kwon).
The 3rd LBer may be unknown at this time (Bond, Beckwith, ?)but the rest of our Dline is quite solid IMO – Ayers, Baker, Spence, McDonald, Gholson, Jac Smith…
Our biggest concern up front defensively is that too many of those mostly good players are historically injury prone.
Injuries (or hopefully the lack of them) may well determine how good our 2017 Defense can be.
July 16th, 2017 at 10:58 am
This PFF ranking is about as valuable as ESPN’s story of Jameis Winston “dabbling in fashion”. The off-season is way too long!
July 16th, 2017 at 12:01 pm
Obviously TMAX does not work for PFF. Otherwise they would have reported that not only is our front seven #22 but one player…GMC is the reason we’ve lost all those games. LMAO
July 16th, 2017 at 12:40 pm
Well, damn
July 16th, 2017 at 4:58 pm
The thing about Kwon for me is the same about Jameis. The geeks are comparing them to 7-9 year vets. There is no allowance for the fact that they are very young in their NFL careers. The trajectory is really good for both. Expecting a second year linebacker not to miss a few tackles is not realistic. BTW, part of having a bunch of missed tackles is getting to a spot to possibly make a tackle. Kwon was 5th in the league in tackles for 2016. Anyone know who led the league in solo tackles…. Anyone, obviously the PFF tribe is unaware that was Kwon. They have to do things like pro rate Keuchly’s season and say things like “if he would have played 16 games…..” One thing too, if the Bucs would’ve had better safety play, the missed tackles would’ve been converted to assisted tackles.
Also, LVD even with his slow start finished 5th in the league in tackles for loss. Hard to call LVD with that and Kwon, 5th in the league in total tackles, 2nd in solo tackles the reason why the front 7 is slotted at 22.
July 17th, 2017 at 8:24 am
22 missed tackles and how many total did he have????????????? Duh.
July 18th, 2017 at 3:26 am
BoJim,
22 missed tackles is a lot.
Tackling a guy is what’s expected. When tackles are missed, big plays happen. Missed tackles are a big deal and it’s why Kwon’s fellow NFL players didn’t place him in the top 100…..frankly, he probably wasn’t even close.
He’s young, and I’m sure he’ll tighten things up, but let’s not discount his weaknesses because he sells out on the big hit too often.