Defense Rules
September 13th, 2017
Unique take.
Yeah, when most non-Bucs NFL fans think of Tampa Bay, take a guess who springs to mind? Yes, that would be America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston.
It seems Tim Hasselbeck is not among them. The BSPN NFL analyst, along with the lovely Antonietta Collins, did a stand-up discussing the Bucs. But when breaking down the team, Hasselbeck used a road less traveled. Rather than talking offense-first, he went defense.
“The talent they have on the defensive side of the ball I think is undeniable,” Hasselbeck said.
Now Joe finds this interesting as hell. Much of the naysayers of the Bucs point to the season totals of the defense last year, which was not good, to be polite. Yet the defense was a book with two far different chapters, BB (before-bye) and AB (after-bye). In the second half of the season, once the Bucs figured out Mike Smith’s defense, it was a like a whole different defense.
And that, friends, could mean the difference between sitting on the couch in January or playing meaningful games.
To see Hasselbeck’s full Bucs analysis, click on the BSPN video below.
September 13th, 2017 at 8:22 am
The bucs pass rush has be near invisible to inconsistent…..
The bucs secondary seems like “hit or miss”
The only solid care is linebacker.
So Mr Hasselbeck obviously hasn’t studied our personnel and he only looks at names on the roster.
September 13th, 2017 at 8:59 am
BucsAnthem
Could you guys EVER bring some facts to support your false OPINIONS.
FACT: The Bucs were tied for 9th in sacks in the NFL last season. That’s not invisible or inconsistent. People seem to obsess on individual totals…where is our guy with ten sacks….and DE’s….where are our dominant DE’s?
That fact is that the Bucs were not that awful with their pass rush last year. And please do not come back with your “eyeball” test…I trust facts more than poster’s eyeballs. And if you want to use the lame excuse that oh the Bucs only got their sacks in the first half and not the second half when they count then freaking document it!!!
Here is something I have not researched…when did those 38 sacks occur…how many in the first half of the season and how many in the second half. The ONLY way that could turn out to be a bad stat would be if we had most of them in the first half and trended down in the second. I do not believe that to be the case but I could be wrong.
September 13th, 2017 at 9:09 am
Stpete.
Good points n I agree. Going off last year the pass rush was decent. Of course we all wana see a game like the seattle game (from last yr) every week but it doesnt happen that way. Teams OLines get paid well too. N Im sure all this nonsense is over the preseason. The same one where we didnt have our best players and a game plan in place. As we saw last yr after atl game, smitty can coach. He is gona get the guys in place to get to the passer. More talent this year at linebacker n safety should mean more blitzes if the 4 arent gettin there. Im not one bit concerned. Just think we need to see a game first, before over analyzing a preseason. Go Bucs
September 13th, 2017 at 9:18 am
Hey stpetebucsfan…….Duheem Morris has something very special to say to you again “STATS ARE FOR LOSERS!”
Why do you need stats when you have a pair of eyeballs to use?
So one of the problems last season was a CONSISTENT PASS RUSH…..which persisted during preseason games
You said 9th in sacks for the team……..but sacks during GARBAGE TIME (GMC loves garbage time) in games isn’t the same as sacks that are made when it is impactful during the games.
I guess facts and stats are great to give you a warm fuzzy……..but it doesn’t “float my boat”
September 13th, 2017 at 9:33 am
Actually the defense got better after the “mini bye week”, not the bye week.
The Bucs played Dixie Chicks on November 3rd 2016 and then the Bears on November 13th 2016.
Am I right?
September 13th, 2017 at 9:51 am
@TheBucsAnthem
I agree with your take to a degree. If you prefaced your statement with “Our D-line was near invisible to inconsistent” in terms of pass-rush, I would agree whole-heartedly. Statistically, I think most of our defense’s accomplishments surprise people. As Joe stated, it was a tale of two halves.
I too would’ve liked to have seen more from the D-line in the pre-season. The rubber hits the road on Sunday! I hope they come to play.
September 13th, 2017 at 10:10 am
To my eye the Bucs are the most balanced overall team in the nfl.
September 13th, 2017 at 10:12 am
We have a lot of defensive talent, front to back, but the DEs are the weak link and maybe the most important one. If we can’t get consistent pressure on the QB it won’t matter how good the back 7 is. You can only cover for so long. Gholston and Spence need to improve their pass rush moves and Ayers needs to play with the same attitude that he talks with. We have a chance to have a top 10 D, but the development of our young DEs is the major key to making that happen. If our O and D lines are both top 10, we have a good shot to go all the way.
September 13th, 2017 at 10:17 am
@Joe … “once the Bucs figured out Mike Smith’s defense, it was a like a whole different defense.” Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. We still don’t have the depth at several positions that I’d like to see, but the starting talent is there. With a year of Mike Smith’s defense under their belt, no reason our defense can’t have a very good season, barring a bunch of injuries to key players of course. As in a Top-10 very good season.
September 13th, 2017 at 11:28 am
LETS GO SMITTY!!!!!….GO BUCS!!!!
September 13th, 2017 at 12:35 pm
I swear to God I’m not just saying this because Hasselbeck is giving us props, but I have always thought he was a smart analyst so know it does please me that he’s giving us props.
September 13th, 2017 at 12:36 pm
*now it pleases me
September 13th, 2017 at 12:48 pm
I always say that Smitty said his D would take about 7 weeks to grasp. Week 6 against the Bears is when the D exploded and very much helped a five game win streak. With a lot of returning players from that defense, I strongly believe we are not going to be totally in the dumps on D if not looking very well.
September 13th, 2017 at 12:59 pm
And I really can’t wait to see what TJ Ward can bring to the table. He is gonna start at some point. 5 mil for one year aint bench money. Is week five against the Pats at home on a Thursday night so crazy of a thought? Whoa momma would that be sweet.
September 13th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
I don’t think some of you know how numbers work. Teams produce stats. Those stats are then used to compare teams from the same league, conference, etc but not to be limited to different time frames and eras. To say that being ranked #9 doesn’t count because the sacks didn’t come when they counted or only came against bad teams or whatever, truly don’t understand how stats work. Teams that are good at something do well against teams that aren’t good at defending that thing. Teams that are great, feast upon the lesser teams. Teams that are good facing teams that are good and great at something (like protecting the QB) will have trouble. It’s a fact. No, the Bucs pass rush in not the best in the league. It is 9th… meaning it is better than 2/3 of the rest of the league.. for last season. It also means that probably roughly 1/3 of offenses in the league will be able to keep them from getting to the QB with great regularity.
The Buc teams of the Kiffin era were GREAT at getting to the passer… they gave great offensive lines fits and destroyed the good ones. The bad ones spent half their time trying to trick them with draw plays, traps, screens, quick passes, etc, anything to not allow the D to get after them. We are not that team… nobody is right now. What we are is a pretty good pass rushing team that will struggle to beat the good offensive lines consistently and not do particularly well against great offensive lines. We were 9th… that’s pretty good, not great.
September 13th, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Brandon, when I’m talking about pass rush, I’m just talking about the D-line. Kiffins’ D was special because we got consistent pressure with the front 4. Total team sacks mean nothing to me when evaluating the D-line. I’m concerned about the D-line sacks without having to blitz.
September 13th, 2017 at 9:25 pm
Buc’sAnthem
Quoting the legendary Raheem Morris to back up your point? Bwaahhaaahaha
How about another quote…don’t know who first said it….Opinions are like arsewholes everybody has one. That’s all you offered. Your OPINION.
Perhaps you post like the Pharaoh…”So let it be written so let it be said”. Because you basically just told us to believe you and not THE RESULTS!!!
September 13th, 2017 at 10:10 pm
Everyone keeps talking about stats. How many sacks did our DEs get last season. They were probably in the bottom half of the league. It’s like Lovie when asked why our pass defense gave up a 70% completion rate and he said a QB can throw 1 yard passes to get his percentage up. We all saw the games and knew he was BS-ing. Stats can be used any way you want them too, but the eye in the sky don’t lie.
September 14th, 2017 at 12:00 am
Where was 93 against dallas! pass rush only exists when it does not matter. throw in the fragility and it’s a concern for any objective fan with standards and who only judges results. wins are the only thing that matters rankings and all the rest meaningless.
September 14th, 2017 at 5:52 am
Tmax as the great one once said put a jersey on if you so damned tough 😩😳 yeah I thought 💭 so way easier to talk off of the field